Battle R News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Hannah? >> and ben, with this battle r -- for mosul, has the fight been comparatively slowed because of so many civilians still in the city, or is it because of the defense isis has put up against iraqi forces? >> reporter: really, it's a combination of the both. we've seen that, for instance, on the east side of the city and the west, this is a city under normal conditions. it had a population of 2 million people. certainly the western part is much more densely populated. so fighting in those areas is difficult in and of itself because of the civilians. then of course isis uses, to maximum ef...

Year, their intent was to drive them to extinction. those who managed to escape the massacre now shelter in tnts on barren slopes overlooking their former homes. these are the families of the fighters standing guard down below. this is what they are fighting for. at the front a poem is being resited. it speaks of lost honor, slaughtered wives and sisters, empty homes. it's meant to remind the soldiers of what's at stake. they tell us they know only too well this is a battle r for their very existence. cnn, mount sinjar. >> thank you so much for that. coming up, jamie fox comes to the defense...