Western-backed Iraqi forces have begun shelling parts of west Mosul, residents said, preparing to open a new front against ISIS seven weeks into a tortuous campaign to drive the militants from the city.

Mosul is the largest city under ISIS control and driving the militants out would roll back the self-styled caliphate which it declared in Iraq and Syria 2014 after seizing large parts of both countries.

The campaign entered its eighth week Monday but militants still control three-quarters of the city, where around 1 million residents are living under increasingly siege-like conditions as winter sets in.

The long-awaited attack from the south aims to relieve pressure on Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops which have spearheaded the fighting in east Mosul for the last month and have come up against the militants' lethal defenses.

Iraqi commanders say they have killed at least 1,000 of the 5,000-6,000 ISIS fighters they estimated were defending the city when the campaign was launched.

The fighting in Bareed follows a series of counterattacks by ISIS forces since Friday night in east Mosul, as well as to the south and west of the city.

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