Tanks rolled into Bashiqa, as Kurdish Peshmerga forces pushed into the town.<br /><br /> Located 15km northeast of Mosul, it is a strategic battleground on the road to Iraq’s second city.<br /><br /> Bursts of gunfire could be heard, as Peshmerga fighters backed by the US-led coalition advanced on two fronts.<br /><br /> The battle for Bashiqa began on Monday, with Peshmerga fighters going house-to-house to clear the town of ISIL militants.<br /><br /> One officer said two suicide car bombs had tried to halt their advance, while a single sniper held up a convoy of 40 vehicles.<br /><br /> It is part of a larger offensive to recapture Mosul from the so-called Islamic State, now into its fourth week.<br /><br /> Iraqi special forces broke into the eastern districts of the city last week, leading to what an army spokesperson described as the world’s ‘toughest urban warfare’.<br />
