More than 100 ancient Assyrian and early Islamic artefacts have been discovered in an Islamic State safe house amid ongoing security operations to clear the recently recaptured Left Bank of Mosul in Iraq.

The collection includes household pottery items, including jugs, vases and bowls.

A series of documents were also found in the IS official's home, detailing the contents of the haul.

Since its capture of Mosul in 2014, IS has benefited from black market sales of antiquities throughout both Iraq and Syria, while at the same time destroying numerous archaeological treasures from places such as Nimrud and Palmyra, as well as countless other artefacts.

Iraqi forces launched the massive operation to retake Mosul in October.

A US-led coalition and Iraq's own air force have been carrying out air strikes in support of the military offensive.

IS still firmly controls Mosul's west, where the next phase of the fighting is expected to be much more difficult.

Mosul — Iraq's second-largest city and IS's last urban stronghold in the country — fell in 2014, when the militant group captured large swathes of northern and western Iraq.

ABC/wires