The mosque was where Islamic State sent members of the Iraqi national police and armed forces to surrender their weapons and register in a militant database when the group seized control of the city in 2014.
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The Iraqi military is taking women and children to camps and screening men to make sure they are not Islamic State fighters.
Twelve people are being treated for possible exposure to chemical weapons agents in Mosul, the United Nations has said, raising fears of the first chemical attack in the besieged city.
Major General Jones said: “We are killing Daesh at a rate that they simply can’t sustain”.
After several eastern Mosul residents were admitted in hospitals recently with injuries consistent with a chemical attack, it is being suspected that Isis is using deadly toxins in the war to retain their last Iraqi stronghold.
“Since 25 February, approximately 4,000 people per day have been displaced”, it said.
Many of ISIS’ leaders in Iraq have now fled towards the area controlled by the group in neighbouring Syria, it added.
She said ISIS fighters had told people to leave her neighbourhood of Maamun in west Mosul.
Lieutenant General Jeff Harrigian, the top Air Force commander in the Middle East, told AP that U.S. troops responsible for calling in airstrikes are now closer to the battle and are able to advance with Iraqi units.
Numerous fleeing civilians, including children, were injured as they were fired at by Daesh while trying to find a way out of militant-held districts.
Although ISIS has been successfully driven from most of Iraq, its impact will remain embedded in Iraqi society and the lives of its citizens.
The troops entered the tunnel as they prepared to attack Mosul airport on the southwest side of the city last week. At the height of the group’s power, IS controlled almost a third of Iraq.
Some militants were able to get near elite Iraqi units in the southwestern part of the city, hidden among people displaced by the fighting, a senior officer told Reuters. “Iraqi commanders shouldn’t risk exposing Mosul civilians to serious harm by militias with a record of recent abuse”.
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The Pentagon will still rely on local ground forces rather than sending in large numbers of troops. “We were up all night trying to control the crowds”.
