MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Gunfire echoes through the pockmarked streets as Maj. Ihab Jalil al-Aboudi's soldiers fight block by block for the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, occasionally pausing to help terrified families flee to safety across the rubble. Associated Press reporters accompanied his forces for three weeks in May as they battled Islamic State militants in neighborhoods around Mosul's Old City, part of a massive offensive launched in October that Iraqi commanders hope to finally complete in the coming days. On a hot afternoon, al-Aboudi helped a group of civilians — men, women and children — navigate a narrow escape corridor opened up by his forces. "Lift your veils!" another soldier called out, signaling to the women that they were no longer bound by the IS group's harsh interpretation of Islamic law.