Iraqi forces attack IS in east Mosul neighborhood

An Iraqi boy sits on a school wall while oil fires burn in the background, after the school reopened today, in Awasaja, Iraq, Tuesday Nov. 15, 2016. For the first time in two years, children in this small village about 30 miles south of Mosul are finally going back to school. Awsaja was reclaimed by the Iraqi military just a few months ago after being under Islamic Stage control for two years. (AP Photo/Fay Abuelgasim) (The Associated Press)

An Iraqi special forces fighter moves between buildings near the front line during fighting with Islamic State militants, in eastern Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) (The Associated Press)

A part of carved stone slabs which were destroyed by the Islamic State militants, is seen at the ancient site of Nimrud some 19 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016. The late 1980s discovery of treasures in Nimrud's royal tombs was one of the 20th century's most significant archaeological finds. The government said the IS militants, who captured the site in June 2014, destroyed it the following year, using heavy military vehicles. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (The Associated Press)

Iraqi special forces have begun a new push deeper into the northern city of Mosul, backed by airstrikes but under attack by rockets and suicide bombers from the Islamic State group.

Troops have established a foothold in the city's east, and drove northward Wednesday into the Tahrir neighborhood, where families left their houses to flee the fighting.

Artillery and airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition supported the advance, sending plumes of smoke into the air over the city.

Iraqi troops are converging from several fronts on Mosul, the country's second largest city and the last major IS holdout in Iraq. The special forces have been the tip of the spear, driving the furthest into the city itself, but they are still fighting over neighborhoods in the city's far east.