Iraqi forces battled the last holdout jihadists in east Mosul Thursday after commanders declared victory there and quickly set their sights on the city's west, where more tough fighting awaits. The announcement that the left bank of the Tigris River that divides Mosul had been retaken was a key milestone in an offensive that began three months ago but could yet last several more.
Staff General Talib al-Sheghati, who heads the Counter-Terrorism Service spearheading the fighting in Mosul, declared the left bank "liberated" at a big press conference on Wednesday.
Iraqi forces were still fighting there on Thursday, flushing out fighters from the Islamic State group in northern neighbourhoods east of the river.
According to the Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against IS, federal forces retook a large hotel and a presidential compound. They also recaptured the town of Talkif, further north, which they had besieged for weeks.
Only a handful of areas on the east bank remained to be cleared, including the neighbourhood of Rashidiyah, commanders said. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said around the new year that ridding the country of IS, which seized around a third of it in 2014, could take three more months.
He had initially promised to do so by the end of 2016 and many observers have argued his new timetable was still optimistic.
Before Iraq launched its massive offensive against IS-held Mosul on October 17, the west bank had always been thought to be where federal forces would meet the toughest resistance.
But elite troops struggled in the east too and only broke the back of the jihadists there in recent days, after stepped up co-ordination and increased aerial and advisory support from the US-led coalition.
Once they have fully secured the east coast, Iraqi forces will need to tackle the west bank of the river, which is a little smaller but more densely populated.
Patrick Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said the worst may be yet to come.
"The coalition and the ISF (Iraqi security forces) should plan for western Mosul to be the hardest fight in Mosul," he said.
"It is denser urban terrain, with older neighbourhoods and narrower streets that will make clearing operations challenging.
"IS and Sunni insurgent groups also have had historical support zones in western Mosul," he added, warning that federal forces advancing in the streets could encounter more hostile residents than they have on the eastern side.