Mosul (Iraq) - Iraqi forces were still battling Islamic State militants in a small area of Mosul on Monday, a day after the prime minister visited to congratulate the troops on retaking nearly all of Iraq's second largest city. Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil of the Iraqi special forces said that even after the militants are defeated in the last pocket under their control, Iraqi forces will need to carry out clearing operations to root out sleeper cells and defuse booby traps. Iraqi commanders believe hundreds of IS fighters remain inside the group's last enclave and are using their families, including women and children, as human shields in a fight to the death. Humvees could be seen racing out of the Old City on Monday, ferrying wounded soldiers to field hospitals. "There's no accurate estimate for the ISIS fighters and the families who are stuck there," said Lt. Gen. Abdul-Ghani al-Asadi, a senior special forces commander. He said most civilians left in the Old City are believed to be IS family members. "But we will not accuse them of anything," he said. "if they don't carry weapons they are civilians."
