Hundreds of Iraqis fled their homes in the recently captured village of Topzawa, near Mosul, fearing ISIS (ISIL, IS, Daesh) retaliation and continued clashes.

Men, women and children queued up to board the buses taking them to refugee camps on Tuesday (October 25).

The displaced people were met by Iraqi armed forces to transport them to a newly established camp in Khazer, west of the Kurdish regional capital Erbil, Reuters reported.

"There were almost a hundred homes, not a single one remained intact.

They were all destroyed," said Taqiadein Hawas, a Topzawa resident.

About 90 ISIS-held villages and towns around Mosul have been retaken so far into the offensive, according to statements from the army.

The distance from the frontline to the city ranges from just a couple of kilometres in the east, to 30 kilometres (nearly 20 miles) in the south.

The UN refugee agency chief said about 7,500 people have fled Mosul and towns and villages around it since the campaign began.

Some 1.5 million residents remain in the city and worst-case forecasts see up to a million being uprooted, according to the United Nations.

U.N. aid agencies said the fighting has so far forced about 7,400 to flee their homes.

SA - 12