March 20 (UPI) -- Iraqi security forces are less than 1,600 feet away from Mosul's Great Mosque of al-Nuri, or Noor mosque, where leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is believed to have declared the Islamic State.
The Iraqi army, with the support of helicopters, advanced into the Old City of Mosul and an area near the mosque on Sunday. Iraqi Federal Police Lt. Gen. Haidre Yusuf Abdulla said Iraqi forces are using extra caution to protect civilians and the Old City's ancient structures.