An Iraqi general believes that most Islamic State commanders in Mosul have been killed over the past three months.
The fight to take the western side of Mosul, which remains under the jihadists' control, should not be more difficult than the one on the eastern side, Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi said before embarking on a tour of areas newly retaken.
Mr Assadi's Counter-Terrorism Service announced on Wednesday that almost all of the city's eastern half had been brought under government control.
"God willing, there will be a meeting in the next few days attended by all the commanders concerned with liberation operations," he said.
"It will not be harder than what we have seen. The majority of (IS) commanders have been killed in the eastern side."
Since late 2015, government forces backed by US air power have wrested back large amounts of northern and western territory overrun by IS in a shock 2014 offensive.
On Thursday, regular Iraqi army troops captured the Nineveh Oberoy hotel, the so-called "palaces" area on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and Tel Kef, a small town just to the north according to military statements in Baghdad.
The army is still battling militants in al-Arabi, the last district which remains under IS control east of the river.
Over 50 watercraft and barges used by Islamic State to supply their units east of the river were destroyed in air strikes, the US envoy to the coalition, Brett McGurty, tweeted.
Mogul's five bridges across the Tigris had already been partially damaged by US-led air strikes to slow the militants' movement, before Islamic State blew up two of them.
"God willing, there will be an announcement in the next few days that all the eastern bank is under control," Mr Assai said.
Prime Minister Hailer al-Badri said late on Tuesday that Islamic State had been severely weakened in the Mosul campaign, and the military had begun moving against it in the western half.
Reuters
