A New Zealander is part of a mission to rescue the remaining animals at the Isis-controlled Mosul Zoo - but the bid has been foiled so far.

As the team tried to enter through Iraqi Army checkpoints on the outskirts of Mosul they were detained and questioned before Iraqi forces agreed to clear a timeslot for rescue workers and vets to access Mosul's Motazah Al-Morour zoo and prepare a bear, named Lula, and a lion, Simba, for transport as bombs fell on the city.

The animals were packed up successfully and removed from the zoo but Iraqi forces stopped the team at a checkpoint.