IS conflict: UN warns of 'huge impact' of Mosul assault

Thousands of people fleeing fighting near Mosul have been arriving at camps in northern Iraq

The humanitarian impact of a planned offensive by Iraqi pro-government forces to retake the city of Mosul is expected to be "enormous", the UN says. 

Up to 1.2 million people living in and around Mosul could be affected by the operation to drive out jihadist militants from Islamic State, it warns. More than 120,000 people have already been displaced by fighting since March as troops clear territory to the south.

Iraqi forces plan to use Qayyarah and its airbase as a logistics hub for the wider Mosul operation

UN plans to set up new camps in the north depend on the availability of land and of funding

Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, has been under IS rule since June 2014.

• Iraq seeks help as it sets sights on Mosul
• Inside Mosul: What's life like under IS?
• Islamic State group: The full story

Earlier on Tuesday, elite troops launched an operation to recapture the key town of Qayyarah, 60km (40 miles) to the south.

A spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), Sabah Numan, said its forces were battling IS militants on the town's outskirts and were working in co-ordination with armed residents inside.


Pro-government forces have been preparing to move on Qayyarah for weeks, after recapturing a nearby airbase that will be used as a logistics hub for the wider offensive on Mosul.

The town's mayor, Saleh al-Jubouri, said an estimated 15,000 civilians were trapped there, but that most of the militants had fled or been killed.