U.S.-backed offensive pounds Islamic State in western Mosul as civilians flee

A few hundred civilians have fled their homes in the outskirts of western Mosul, the first reported displacement since a U.S.-backed offensive on the jihadists’ remaining stronghold there began at the weekend.A Reuters correspondent saw about 200 women and children being transported on buses by federal police on Wednesday to the town of Hammam al-Alil, some 20 km (12 miles) south of Mosul, where camps have been set up.The federal police and elite Interior Ministry units known as Rapid Resp