Iraqi Kurdish forces have retaken the town of Bashiqa, one of the last areas east of Mosul to be held by the Islamic State group, a top security official said Tuesday.

Iraqi forces retook a key town from the Islamic State group Monday, a crucial objective on the southern front of the offensive to wrest back the city of Mosul.

Iraqi special forces threw themselves back into battle Saturday after a first foray into Mosul was blunted by stiffer than expected resistance from jihadists defending the birthplace of their "caliphate".

While the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) fought the Islamic State group in the streets of Mosul, the army and federal police attacked one of the last sizeable towns on the more distant southern front.

Elite Iraqi forces in tanks and bulldozers thrust into Mosul Friday but faced intense gunfire and bombs from jihadists defending the city where their "caliphate" was born.

Two years after they withdrew from Mosul broken and defeated, Iraqi forces have capped a dramatic turnaround by reaching the largest city they lost to the Islamic State group.

The U.N. said Tuesday it had received more reports of Islamic State group fighters forcing thousands of civilians into Mosul, possibly to be used as human shields against advancing Iraqi troops. 

France said Wednesday it had extended the mission of its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, in the eastern Mediterranean until mid-December to help the offensive against the Islamic State group in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

More than 3,300 fleeing Iraqis sought help from the government on day nine of its offensive to retake Mosul, the most for a single day so far, a minister said Wednesday.

The offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State jihadists has so far progressed faster than planners anticipated, but military experts fear the fighting could get tougher as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces enter the city.

France will host an international meeting Thursday on the future of Mosul, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on the second day of a major offensive to retake Iraq's second city from the Islamic State group.