Hundreds of civilians flee Mosul's Old City as Iraqi special forces close in on Islamic State-held territory

Hundreds of civilians have fled the Iraqi city of Mosul as airstrikes pound the last pockets of territory held by so-called Islamic State.

Many were so badly injured they had to be carried over the mounds of rubble blocking the the Old City's narrow streets.

Footage showed groups of civilians covered in dust following a strike, with dozens suffering from what appeared to be shrapnel wounds.

They are fleeing in waves as Iraqi forces push towards the Tigris river.

Major General Sami al-Aridi said the country's special forces are some 450 metres from the river bank - and he expects them to reach it within days.

The United Nations estimates that tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped inside the Old City, where temperatures have soared to around 45 degrees Celsius and are expected to climb higher in the coming days.

• Iraqi forces battle into Mosul's Old City

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake the Old City in mid-June.

After eight months of battles to retake Mosul, the dense west Mosul neighbourhood is Islamic State's last stand in Iraq's second-largest city.

The country's prime minister declared an end to IS' so-called caliphate in June after Iraqi forces retook the landmark al-Nuri mosque in the Old City and pledged victory was "near."