But he cautioned that the city had "not yet" fallen.

"Yesterday people in Mosul, including the commanders of the 5th Corps (of the Iraqi army), the governor and the heads of important families sent a delegation to (KDP leader) Massoud Barzani to ask him to use his good offices with with the Americans for a peaceful surrender of the city without any more fighting," said KDP spokesman Hoshyar Zebari.

"We sent a message to the Americans in the afternoon: Mosul wants to surrender, we have to reassure them," he said.

"There were two results. First, since the war is continuing, the American officers want a formal surrender. Second, we have reassured the people of Mosul that we will help them with their surrender, to help them protect their goods, and (assure) their security."

SPACE.WIRE