Here are the latest developments on the main battle fronts in Iraq and Syria, as of 1600 GMT on Thursday:

SYRIA

- Battle for Aleppo -

Syria's army battled to take more ground from rebels in east Aleppo after President Bashar al-Assad said victory for his troops would be a turning point in his country's five-year war.

Three weeks into a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, government troops have captured about 85 percent of territory rebels controlled in the city's east.

The UN reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire in Aleppo, warning that as many as 500 sick and injured children desperately needed to be evacuated from the besieged last pockets of rebel-held areas.

Nearly 150 civilians, many disabled or sick, were evacuated on Wednesday night from a health facility in Aleppo's Old City after the army retook the area, the Red Cross said.

Talks between the United States and Russia -- including fresh meetings between top diplomats -- failed to achieve a breakthrough on a ceasefire.

The White Helmets rescue group urged international organisations to protect its members in the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo.

At least 384 civilians have been killed in east Aleppo since the regime assault was launched on November 15, while rebel fire into the city's government-held west has killed at least 105 people over the same period, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The assault has prompted a mass exodus from east Aleppo where at least 80,000 people have fled their homes, according to the Britain-based monitoring group.

- Raqa -

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, is trying to push closer to the Islamic State group's de facto Syrian capital of Raqa.

The SDF has been battling the jihadists to drive them from positions around 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of the city.

IRAQ

- Battle for Mosul -

Since starting an offensive on October 17 to oust the Islamic State group from its last Iraqi stronghold, pro-government forces say they have recaptured almost half of eastern Mosul and are edging towards the Tigris river that divides it.

The elite Counter-Terrorism Service has retaken a large number of neighbourhoods in the east and was around three kilometres (two miles) from the river on Thursday.

The Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary force has been fighting on a western front and on Thursday announced it had retaken the town of Tal Abtah after fierce fighting that lasted days.

Their spokesman said retaking Tal Abtah stripped IS of its main desert command centre west of Mosul.

The southern front has stopped moving north within striking distance of Mosul airport, while the northern front has also made little progress in recent days.

According to the United Nations, a total of 82,000 people are currently displaced as a result of the Mosul operation.

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