Government forces in Iraq have continued their large-scale push towards Mosul storming a Christian region seized by ISIL in 2014. <br /><br /> Units entered the town of Qaraqosh lying about 30 kilometres from the northern city, commanders said. <br /><br /> Further south, US soldiers at Iraq’s Qayyara airfield, the main hub supporting the offensive, were forced to wear <br />masks against toxic plumes from a nearby sulphur plant set ablaze in the fighting. <br /><br /> The latest advances took place as US Defence chief Ash Carter arrived in Baghdad for talks to discuss the military campaign.<br /><br /> While the Iraqi army is trying to advance from the south and east on ISIL positions, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters attacked settlements east of Mosul on Saturday. <br /><br /> It follows the capture of the town of Bartella by Iraqi forces earlier this week. <br /><br /> In the meantime, while ISIL’s counter attack in Kirkuk south-east of Mosul appears to be all but over, there have been reports of mass executions by the group. <br /><br /> Iraqi officials have accused ISIL fighters of killing nearly 300 men and boys near Mosul as coalition forces close in on the city.<br />
