Iraqi security forces expect to take full control of Mosul in the next hours as only a few meters are left under the control of Islamic State, Iraqi state TV said on Saturday.

“We are seeing now the last meters [of the battle] and then victory will be announced,” said a TV speaker, citing the channel's correspondents embedded with security forces battling in Islamic State's redoubt in the Old City of Mosul, by the Tigris river. “It's a matter of hours,” she said.

A military spokesman cited by the TV said the insurgents' defense lines were collapsing.