Iraqi forces launch operation to seize last Islamic State enclave in Mosul

By Maher Chmaytelli and Isabel ColesBAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi armed forces launched an operation on Saturday to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, according to a military statement.The fall of the city would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" declared nearly three years ago by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which also covers parts of Syria.The U.S.-backed offensive in Mosul, now in its eighth month, has taken longer than plann