Iraqi forces battled the last holdout extremists in east Mosul Thursday (January 19th) after commanders declared victory there and quickly set their sights on the city's west, AFP reported.

Staff Gen. Talib al-Sheghati, who heads the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) spearheading the fighting in Mosul, declared the left bank "liberated" at a big press conference on Wednesday .

Iraqi forces were still fighting there on Friday, flushing out fighters from the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) in northern neighbourhoods east of the river.

"We have today completed the recapture of the Forests and the al-Dor areas, with ISIL fighters withdrawing en masse, and some of them fleeing by swimming to the other bank of the Tigris," Lt. Gen. Abdul Ghani al-Asadi, a top commander with the CTS, told Diyaruna on Friday.

On Thursday, Iraqi forces also recaptured the town of Talk Kayf , 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.

"More than 4,000 ISIL elements have been killed or wounded in east Mosul battles," al-Asadi said, adding that Iraqi forces have seized large quantities of weapons, assets and vehicles belonging to the group.

"We are now clearing the liberated neighbourhoods, which represent more than 95% of the area of east Mosul, and are providing assistance to residents there," he said.

Once they have fully secured the east coast, Iraqi forces are getting ready to advance on the west bank of the river, which is a little smaller but more densely populated.

"In co-operation with the international coalition, we have drawn up a plan to attack the western part of Mosul," al-Asadi said. "We will engage ISIL in swift battles there to ensure they do not have the opportunity to escape."

Col. John Dorrian, coalition spokesman, said the battle would be tough but argued the extremists had also been severely weakened since October, according to AFP.

"They lost a lot of fighters, a lot of resources, a lot of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and a lot of weapons during the first half of this battle," he said.

"The city is for all intents and purposes surrounded so they will not be able to resupply or reinforce whatever remains," he said.