Tigris River News

"We have 93 people killed in the sinking ferry in Mosul, and the search operations continued for more possible victims," Saad Maan, a ministry spokesman, said in a press release.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over Islamic State in Mosul on Monday, marking the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago.

According to the official, dozens of snipers have been deployed by the Iraqi Army along the Tigris River in an effort to abort any Daesh attempt to attack Mosul's eastern side.

The jihadist group holds territory elsewhere in Iraq as well as in neighbouring Syria, and has been able to carry out attacks in government-held areas. 

Haider al-Abadi spoke during a press conference in Baghdad, less than a week after he declared an end to IS' self-styled caliphate after Iraqi forces achieved an incremental win by retaking the landmark al-Nuri Mosque in the Old City.

The attack took place when a booby-trapped car exploded at the busy intersection near al-Shuhadaa Bridge, across the Tigris River in central Baghdad.

Iraqi special forces entered Mosul University today in their latest advance along the eastern front as they battle Islamic State militants for control of the city, according to senior Iraqi officers.

At least 24 people were killed in an attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Saturday.

Elite Iraqi troops battled the Islamic State group in the streets of Mosul on Friday as US-backed forces in Syria pressed an advance on jihadist bastion Raqa after a sandstorm eased.

Iraqi forces retook a key town from the Islamic State group Monday, a crucial objective on the southern front of the offensive to wrest back the city of Mosul.

Iraqi forces on Wednesday closed in on the centre of Qayyarah, officials said, on the second day of an operation to recapture the town from jihadists.