BAGHDAD \u2014 Iraqi forces face a dilemma as they push farther into Mosul: How to draw out entrenched Islamic State fighters while protecting residents who\u2019ve been hunkered in their homes for weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are advancing steadily,\u201d said Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab al-Saadi, a commander in Iraq\u2019s elite counterterrorism forces. “We are taking in civilians fleeing (Islamic State-controlled) areas while prioritizing protecting residents inside the city.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Since Oct. 17 when the offensive on Mosul began, Iraqi forces have advanced from the east and the south, clearing surrounding towns and finally entering the eastern districts of the city last week. They have encountered heavy resistance from the militants as they attempt to move toward the city center.<\/span><\/p>\n Counterterrorism forces have moved slowly and cautiously to avoid ambushes and to entice the Islamic State to conduct frontal attacks where Iraqi forces have the advantage, al-Saadi said.<\/span><\/p>\n At this rate, he added, it could take a few months to finally take control of Iraq’s second-largest city from the Islamic State, largely because the Iraqi government wants to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Islamic State is using civilians as human shields,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U.S.-led forces supporting the operation, said at the same news conference that airstrikes had destroyed 59 suicide car bombs and more than 80 tunnels, the Associated Press reported.<\/span><\/p>\n In the districts where the Iraqi soldiers are now in control, white flags adorn houses whose residents embrace their liberators.<\/span><\/p>\n “It was a dream for us that the Iraqi army reached Mosul,\u201d said Abu Yousif, who made it to the government-controlled area last week. Islamic State militants told residents that Iraq’s armed forces would never get close to Mosul, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n So far, the fighting around Mosul has displaced about 56,000 people, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n People continue to flee. On the front lines, dozens of families looking worn and thin, and covered with dust, trickle over from the districts controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS. The first thing the men do is shave their beards, while the women tear off their face veils. The Islamic State had required both in areas they control, in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islam.<\/span><\/p>\n Life in eastern Mosul is far from normal. Booby traps, Islamic State snipers left behind to harass Iraqi forces, indoctrinated youth fighting as militants and other hazards are common. The sounds of gunshots and explosions are the norm in areas where residents walk in the streets again, enjoying freedom from the Islamic State, even as they scavenge for food.<\/span><\/p>\n The Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig-Gen. Saad Maan, said the military has driven out the Islamic State from more than one-third of the eastern half of the city. He said Baghdad intends to stop at nothing to push the militants out of the city.<\/span><\/p>\n As a result, Yousif said, Islamic State leaders in Mosul have already moved their families to the western side of the Tigris River that divides the city.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey know they are losing,” he said. “They are getting ready to run away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Their escape was ironic, he noted.<\/span><\/p>\n “It was impossible to leave,\u201d he said about the residents of Mosul. \u201cIf anyone tried, they (Islamic State) would consider you a traitor, and you would need to stand trial.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Such persecution has left the Islamic State with few supporters in Mosul, said Abo Omer, who escaped to the eastern part of the city with his wife and five children.<\/span><\/p>\n “They just want to have an excuse to punish you,” he said. “They executed 14 members of one family after they accused them of espionage with Iraqi forces.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Now, his family is just relieved, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n “We waited for this moment eagerly,” he said of their escape from the terrible life under the Islamic State, “We were starving, there was no food in the city. We suffered a lot.”<\/span><\/p>\n Source:\u00a0http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/world\/2016\/11\/15\/islamic-state-mosul-offensive-iraq\/93928498\/<\/span><\/p>\n