Alalam - Iraq

On Sunday two militants tried to attack army barracks in the western province of Anbar.

Police and army sources said the attackers were killed before they reached the base.

Iraqi officials say they continue to gain ground against the militants who still hold about three-quarters of the country's largest northern city.

But the fierce resistance means the military's campaign is likely to stretch well into next year.

This has prompted fears among residents and aid groups of a winter food, water and fuel supply crisis for the million residents still in ISIS-held areas of the city.

Some 100,000 Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish security forces and mainly Shi'ite paramilitary forces are participating in the assault that began on October 17, with air and ground support from a US-led international military coalition, Reuters reports.

A senior officer in the Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) said its troops battled on Sunday to clear ISIS terrorists from one eastern Mosul district, using heavy machine guns and rockets.

Iraqi commanders say they have killed at least 1,000 ISIS terrorists.

SA - 12