MOSCOW, October 20/TASS/. Warplanes of the international coalition have carried out 27 airstrikes on different facilities of Iraqi Mosul carrying out 35 sorties, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing on Thursday.

"Over the last 24 hours, we have fixed eight sorties of coalition planes with six powerful bomb strikes on the city. All in all, planes of the coalition have carried out 35 sorties since the start of the operation on October 17, making 27 airstrikes on different facilities of Mosul," the major general said.

A military operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul began in the morning on October 17. In addition to Iraqi government forces, it involves Kurdish units and the international anti-terrorist coalition. The Iraqi military say up to 6,000 IS militants are currently inside the city. Mosul - Iraq’s second largest city with an estimated population of 1.3 million people - has been under the control of the Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) for more than two years.