Ammunition strapped across his chest and armed with a Dragunov sniper rifle, Ahmed Thair Jassem of Iraq's 9th Armored Division boasts of the jihadists he has killed in the battle for Mosul.

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.

Iraq launched an offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group two weeks ago. Here is what we know so far about the country's biggest military operation in years:

Iraq's elite Rapid Response Division, which is now at the forefront of the southern advance on Mosul, has emerged as a key assault force in the country's war against jihadists.

As Iraqi forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition inch towards the Islamic State group in Mosul, experts and security sources warn that any assault on the jihadists' main Syrian stronghold of Raqa would be even more difficult.

For hardliners in Iran, running down the United States has become a lot easier during the U.S. election campaign -- it's just a matter of turning on the television.

Southeast Asia faces a growing risk of extremist violence as Islamic State group supporters increasingly work together, but law enforcement agencies are unprepared for the new threat, a report warned Tuesday. 

The notorious "Jungle" migrant camp on the outskirts of the French port of Calais has for years been a key staging post for migrants trying to smuggle across the Channel to Britain on lorries or trains.

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.

Iraq's Christian community is one of the oldest in the world and the loss of what was once its largest town, Qaraqosh, to the Islamic State group two years ago was a major blow.

News that the town was poised to be recaptured from the jihadists sparked jubilation among Christians who had fled, with many dancing and singing in the city of Arbil.