On the front line at Mosul airport as Iraqi forces fight Islamic State

On the front line at Mosul airport as Iraqi forces fight Islamic State

The column of armour rumbles through villages that look like damnation itself.

The area, which lies on the edge of western Mosul, has been wrecked by a tempest of bombs and bullets.

Iraq's Rapid Response Units gather on a hillside overlooking the city's now defunct airport.

For months it's been considered a key asset to retake from Islamic State extremists.

Overhead, helicopter gunships rain down fire on IS positions in a sugar factory next to the airport's runway.


Iraqi forces recapture Mosul airport from the Islamic State group

Iraqi forces must first clear the sprawling complex - a perfect cover for hidden enemy fighters - before they can push forward.

But it's not long before we are moving again. A tank leads another convoy of armoured vehicles alongside the airport road.

Sky crew at the battle for Mosul airport

Iraqi forces must first clear the sprawling complex - a perfect cover for hidden enemy fighters - before they can push forward.

But it's not long before we are moving again. A tank leads another convoy of armoured vehicles alongside the airport road.

:: Iraqi forces battling IS enter militant-held Mosul airport

The bodies of two scorched IS fighters lie next to a destroyed motorbike.

The militants' resistance is weakening in the face of superior firepower but they still strike back. Volleys of mortar fire send smoke puffing up as they fall just short of our position.

And we see first-hand another tactic the extremist group is using. Iraqi soldiers spot a weaponised drone overhead and fire into the air.

Iraqi troops take Mosul airport

As Iraqi forces entered the terminal building military commanders declared the airport liberated. But this battle is far from over.

As government forces consolidate their grip here and move further into built up areas of western Mosul the fighting will get more dangerous and difficult.

Around 700,000 civilians are trapped in their homes, and with the old city's narrow alleys comes the promise of street-to-street fighting.