Fars News Agency- Iraq's Federal Police forces liberated three more villages and approached Mosul's international airport on Wednesday.

Iraq's Federal Police Chief Raed Shaker Jowdat�wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday that his forces have seized back control of al-Khafsan, Shahloub and Bazireh villages and are now only 16km away from the international Mosul airport.

The Federal Police forces also seized control of al-Katieh in the Western parts of Hamam al-Alil in Southern Mosul.

Meantime, the Hashd al-Sha'abi (popular forces) could liberate the ancient al-Saif hill as well as Khabirat village in West of Mosul.

The popular forces also regained control of Um al-Izam village in Western Mosul after fierce clashes with the ISIL terrorists.

Earlier today, Jowdat had disclosed that his forces have stormed ISIL's positons in Central Mosul from three flanks after prevailing over the terrorists' defense lines.

"The entire first defense lines of ISIL in the Southern flank of Mosul city have been devastated," the police chief said.

"We have annihilated the entire first defense lines of ISIL in Southern Mosul, and our military units, backed up by the army's artillery units and Iraqi fighter jets, are advancing towards center of Mosul," Jowdat said.

An Iraqi interior ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that the Army troops have killed 778 ISIL members in the "Southern fronts" of the operation to liberate the Northern city of Mosul, while Iraqi warplanes dropped bombs on 375 militants.

"Iraqi security forces recaptured hundreds of miles of land and killed over 1,100 ISIL fighters as their advance against the ISIL stronghold from the South continued," said Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman, Col. Sa'ad Moen.

The spokesman said 778 ISIL members were killed in operations by ground forces in the "Southern axis," while 375 others were killed as Iraqi warplanes dropped bombs on their positions.

The offensive helped liberate 895 miles of land in the surrounding Nineveh province, Moen added.

Meanwhile, Kurdish forces said more than 480 ISIL fighters have been killed over the past few days during an operation by Peshmerga to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from militants.