The fight for Mosul is nearly three weeks old, and Islamic State is steadily losing ground.
Fighting the hardline Sunni militants, also known as Daesh, are Iraqi regular troops and special forces, Shi'ite militias, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters - 200 of whom are women.
All images by Ahmed Jadallah. None of the women in the photos have been identified by name (Reuters)
When Islamic State militants fire mortar bombs at the female cohort, before firing back they give the terrorists an onslaught of singing.
"We wanted to make them angry. To tell Daesh that we are not afraid," Mani Nasrallahpour, 21, told Reuters.
Islamic State is known for its oppressive rules on women and its prohibition of music and singing.
"They are afraid of women," fighter Avin Vaysi said. "It is true that Daesh is dangerous but we are not afraid of them."
Ms Vaysi, 32, says was enraged and inspired to fight by news reports of the militants' atrocities.
"I saw on television that Daesh is torturing women and it made my blood boil," said Ms Vaysi, who has a Kurdish flag painted on her cheek. "I decided to go and fight them."
Ms Nasrallahpour says the women have made a pact never to allow themselves to be taken captive by IS.
"We always have a bullet ready to use on ourselves in case we are about to be taken prisoner.
"We will tear them apart. When they have killed our babies in the womb, why should we show them mercy?"
In the Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga force, the women are treated the same as the men.
"Along with defending our Kurdish land we are also fighting for women's rights. Like a man, I can fight in the mountains and the desert," Ms Nasrallahpour says.
"Here the men cook for us."
Mosul is still home to nearly 1.5 million people, who risk being caught up in brutal urban warfare. The United Nations has warned of a potential humanitarian crisis and a refugee exodus, although Iraqi officials say Islamic State is holding the civilian population as human shields.
Newshub.