The rapid response unit also removed the bodies of ISIS (ISIL , IS , Daesh) terrorists killed during the clashes.

There were a large number of the foreign fighters here in this area.

Some of them withdrew into Mosul; others were killed by our air strikes and by our fighters when they first came to the area.

We are now clearing the area," said First Lieutenant Rami Falah of the rapid response forces.

The Mosul operation, involving a 100,000-strong coalition of troops, security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga and Shi'ite Muslim militias, and backed by US-led air strikes, has entered its fourth week, but has so far gained just a small foothold in the city, Reuters reports.

ISIS terrorists have executed scores of people in and around Mosul this week, and are reportedly stockpiling ammonia and sulphur in civilian areas, possibly for use as chemical weapons, UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday.

A mass grave with over 100 bodies found in the nearby town of Hammam al-Alil was one of several ISIS killing grounds, Shamdasani said, citing information gleaned from sources on the ground including a man who played dead during a mass execution.

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