rban bastion in Iraq [Reuters]
Iraqi special forces stood poised to enter Mosul in an offensive to drive out fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group after sweeping into the last village on the city's eastern edge on Monday.
The troops said they fended off suicide car bombs without losing a soldier.
Armored vehicles drew fire from mortars and small arms as they moved on the village of Bazwaya in an assault that began at dawn, while artillery and air strikes hit ISIL, or ISIS, positions. By evening, the fighting had stopped and units took up positions less than a mile from Mosul's eastern border and about 5 miles (8 kilometres) from the centre, two weeks into the offensive to retake Iraq's second-largest city.