war. Satabraq's disabled grandfather sits in a wheelchair sporting wrap-around shades, holding an old ice cream tub of his medication and wearing an indifferent expression.

"She was supposed to go to school but she couldn't under ISIS, so she has trouble speaking," Abdullah said. "There was nothing for her, no education, nothing. ISIS came, we shut our doors, and she was never allowed out."

The brutal fight for Mosul

At the center of the Old City's winding streets is al-Nuri Mosque, the ideological heart of ISIS in Iraq.

In 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stood on its 12th century pulpit and announced the creation of the so-called Islamic caliphate. It was the first and last time the leader of the terrorist group spoke publicly to his followers.

Now, on the mosque's famed leaning minaret,the black and white ISIS flag still flutters.

The Iraqi federal police, who defend and fight for this area, exclaimed, "Next Friday, God willing, we will pray in al-Nuri."

It is a difficult promise to keep. The police units are losing men daily to ISIS's counter assault. And the frontline, just on the outer edge of the Old City, is so fluid, it's often hard to tell who has the upper hand.

Narrow alleyways make it difficult for Iraqi troops to fight back ISIS in Mosul's Old City. #isisbattle #mosul #isisbattle A post shared by Salma Abdelaziz (@salmaazzizcnn) on Apr 20, 2017 at 12:26pm PDT

At best, Iraq's federal police are engaged in a brutal game of hide and seek, advancing a number of meters at a time, only to risk being