COWARDLY ISIS fighters dressed in women's clothes are fleeing Mosul while the group's commanders have ordered their WAGs to escape before the city is encircled.

Their desperate last-ditch orders come as Kurdish forces and elite Iraqi counter-terror troops began a lightning advance on the city.

23 Two men dressed in drag are photographed by peshmerga forces near Mosul

23 Kurdish troops fire rockets at ISIS troops in one of Mosul's outlying villages Credit: Getty Images

23 Smoke rises as liberating troops bombard ISIS positions Credit: Reuters

23 One of Iraqs elite special forces soldiers poses for a photo having joined the battle for Mosul just this morning Credit: AP:Associated Press

23 A Kurdish sniper holds a position outside the town of Naweran Credit: Reuters

23 Kurdish troops launched a "pincer" movement on three ISIS positions this morning Credit: Getty Images

23 Peshmerga forces gather north of Mosul during today's advances Credit: Reuters

23 They launched a three pronged attack on ISIS-held villages today Credit: Reuters

Pictures shared online show two men, purported to be enemy fighters, being paraded before liberating troops while wearing dresses.

It has also emerged leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - who is rumoured to be holed up inside the besieged city - has ordered the "women of the caliphate" to leave.

Leading US generals and French president Francois Hollande say ISIS fighters are fleeing - and must be blocked from regrouping in nearby Raqqa.

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Major General Gary Volesky, who heads the anti-IS coalition's land component, said: "We are telling Daesh (ISIS) that their leaders are abandoning them. We've seen a movement out of Mosul."

He said many foreigners among the 3,000 to 4,500 ISIS fighters would likely end up forming the core of the holdout jihadist force.

Volesky noted that the Iraqis would screen anyone leaving Mosul, and attempts by foreign fighters to blend in to an expected exodus of displaced people would be thwarted.

23 A huge blaze sparked by oil well fires burns near Mosul Credit: Getty Images

23 A man poses to take a selfie in front of the billowing oil well fire Credit: Getty Images

23 The fires were lit by the jihadis in a bid to obscure visibility of coalition fighter jets Credit: Getty Images

23 An Iraqi soldier gives the peace sign while standing in front of plumes of toxic smoke Credit: Getty Images

23 Smoke rises from oil wells across the small towns neighbouring Mosul Credit: Getty Images

23 A group of soldiers march through the scarred and war-torn landscape near Mosul Credit: Getty Images

23 Iraqi and Kurdish forces made advances on ISIS territory overnight Credit: Getty Images

23 A peshmerga anti-aircraft gun blasts ISIS positions in Naweran, near Mosul Credit: Reuters

23 Oil slicks are seen spread across the ground as smoke rises in the background Credit: Getty Images

23 The towns surrounding Mosul are the first step for the 30,000 troops aiming to retake the city Credit: Getty Images

"It's difficult for them to blend into the local population based on the number of different types of foreign fighters that there are."

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday the offensive in Mosul was progressing more quickly than originally planned.

His comments come as Kurdish peshmerga announced a three-pronged assault to the north and east of the city, while elite Iraqi special forces moved in from the south.

He said: "The forces are pushing towards the town more quickly than we thought and more quickly than we had programmed in our campaign plan."

23 A Kurdish peshmerga soldier loads an anti-tank missile during this morning's skirmishes Credit: Reuters

23 A group of Iraqi children look across their battle-worn home Credit: Getty Images

23 Two girls arrive in the town of Al Qayyarah after it was liberated from ISIS Credit: Getty Images

23 The firefights which have occurred this week have already displaced hundreds of civilians Credit: Getty Images

23 Smoke from burning oil wells rises behind a group of civilians forced from their homes by the fighting Credit: Getty Images

The addition of the elite troops, also known as counter terrorism forces, marks a significant intensification of the fight for Iraq's second-largest city.

As they advanced, attack helicopters fired on the militants and heavy gunfire echoed across the plains.

Major General Maan al-Saadi said the elite forces advanced on the town of Bartella with the aid of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and heavy artillery on the fourth day of a massive operation to retake Iraq's second-largest city.

"God willing, we will take this town today," he said.

The militants fought back, unleashing at least four suicide car bombs against the advancing forces, one of which blew up after it was struck by tank fire.

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