The progress comes as the U.N. warned that nearly 150,000 people have been displaced since the Mosul operation started in mid-October. Special forces spokesman Sabah al-Numan told The Associated Press that security forces found only the fences alongside the ruins. The advance comes as Iraqi forces are pushing IS out of the last neighborhoods in Mosul's east and closing in on the Tigris river that roughly divides the city. While Iraqi forces continue to make territorial gains against IS, Mosul's civilians continue to be killed, wounded and displaced by the fighting. The U.N. said in a statement issued late Monday that the Mosul operation continues to inflict high civilian casualties.

Source: ABC News January 17, 2017 09:55 UTC