The Fight for Fallujah Nearly Over?

Iraqi forces have almost gained complete control over the ISIS stronghold of Fallujah.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Friday evening that Iraqi troops have "tightened their control" over the city, leaving only "pockets" of Islamic state militants left inside.

Brig. Gen. Al-Obeidi said Friday that Iraqi froces had recaptured 80 percent of the city, with ISIS fighters concentrated in only four districts.

The news comes as a big win for Iraqi troops after a long struggle against the Islamic state. But the fight over the strategic city is not over yet. 

Some areas of Fallujah are still under fire with Iraqi troops trying to drive out ISIS militants. U.S. warplanes are also targeting snipers and other ISIS militants left in the city.

So far, Iraqi forces have regained control of the main hospital in Fallujah. Troops feared militants would use any patients left inside as human shields, but when they stormed the hospital they found no patients in the facility. 

Now, they are focusing their efforts on retaking neighborhoods in the northern edge of the city. 

Meanwhile, Iraqi troops are sweeping into the recaptured areas of Fallujah to neutralize mines and explosives left behind by the Islamic State.

Fallujah was the first city to fall into the Islamic State's iron fist in 2014. Until recently it has remained under militant control with an estimated 50,000 civilians trapped inside.

An estimated 30,000 to 42,000 civilians have fled Iraq since the fight between Iraqi troops and ISIS militants began to heat up a few weeks ago. 

Although Christians have found their home in Iraq for thousands of years, increased targetted violence and persecution has left the Christian population nearly extinct. According to Open Doors, Iraq is the second worst place in the world to be a Christian with only a population of a few thousand left.