US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that extremist group Daesh would be defeated in an operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul, in "another step toward their ultimate destruction."
The Iraqi army launched on Monday what is expected to be a lengthy offensive to dislodge the terrorist organization from the city.
It would be a "difficult fight," Obama said, adding that the United States would help ensure supplies of humanitarian aid for up to a million civilians who may flee the city.
Iraqi officials and local media on Tuesday reported continued advances against Daesh on front lines around Mosul.
Military officials said troops had recaptured the town of Qaraqoush, some 15 kilometres south-east of Mosul on the east bank of the Tigris.
Daesh militants had withdrawn from the town before the military entered it, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Qaraqoush was the largest Christian settlement in Iraq before it fell to Daesh in August 2014.
The push to retake Mosul from Daesh had not yet not forced a major number of civilians to flee, the UN emergency aid office (OCHA) said in its latest situation report, 26 hours into the operation.
The office noted, however, that "serious concerns remain for the protection of civilians as hostilities intensify" in urban areas.
The United Nations has said it expected the military operation to displace up to 1 million people.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that routes for safe passage for displaced people would be identified, "but at the same time, we are calling on the people of Mosul to stay in their homes."
"The Iraqi military units are moving well on the combat fronts against Daesh and there is great coordination with the Peshmerga, for the first time in 25 years," al-Abadi said, referring to the military of the autonomous Kurdistan region which is also taking part in the offensive.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari sought the support of the European Union and the international community to help cover the cost of the Mosul operation.
"Iraq is going through these special circumstances and it needs assistance," he said at a joint press conference in Brussels with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. "We are incurring a lot of costs that we are paying for ourselves."
He noted that the danger presented by Daesh "can reach all countries of the world, so we count on the support from all countries of the world ... to help us in our fight."
"We are achieving these victories not just for us but for also for the EU, for other countries," the minister said.
Mogherini noted that the EU was involved with humanitarian assistance and with efforts to stabilize the situation following the military campaign.
"What happens after the campaigns on the ground sometimes is even more important," the EU's top diplomat said.
Al-Jaafari will travel to Paris on Thursday to discuss the operation to liberate Mosul with more than 20 ministers and organizations, the French government said.
Hosted by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, the meeting is aimed at discussing the protection of civilians, humanitarian aid and plans to stabilize the region - as well as other geographic areas liberated from the Islamic State militant group.
