(Mosul) As the final fight for the city of Mosul draws closer to its conclusion, Iraqi commanders say female Islamic State terrorists are firing on their forces and using children as human shields as the extremist group defends its last sliver of Mosul's Old City.
The terrorists' use of human shields has repeatedly slowed Iraqi advances throughout the nearly nine-month offensive to retake the country's second largest city.
Lt. Gen. Sami al-Aridi:
The terrorists' use of human shields has repeatedly slowed Iraqi advances throughout the nearly nine-month offensive to retake the country's second largest city.
Lt. Gen. Sami al-Aridi:
"The women are fighting with their children right beside them. It's making us hesitant to use airstrikes, to advance. If it weren't for this, we could be finished in just a few hours."However, that view isn’t mirrored by others in the Iraqi army who have no issue with using artillery to wipe them all out:
"They're all Daesh, just kill them all."Iraqi forces are still encountering stiff resistance from an estimated few hundred ISIS terrorists lodged among thousands of civilians in the Old City's maze of alleyways, particularly from foreign suicide bombers. The military has predicted final victory this week after a grinding eight-month assault to oust Islamic State from the once two-million-strong city.
