MOSUL, Iraq -- It has taken three long and bloody months to get this far.

On an eerie drive through Mosul, the destruction became worse the closer a CBS News crew got to Mosul University, a former ISIS weapons factory.

Donald Trump has vowed to eradicate ISIS militants, but it’s an enormous challenge.

A Mosul University building CBS News

For the Iraqi Special Forces, recapturing the university was a symbolic victory.

Thousands of Iraqi soldiers are thought to have lost their lives in Mosul, some in the battle to reclaim the sprawling complex, including a well-stocked chemistry lab where militants invented new types of bombs.

CBS News wasn’t allowed close to the chemistry lab, as ISIS had left it booby trapped. It’s a typical ISIS strategy that slows down the Iraqi forces while the militants regroup elsewhere.

ISIS flags still fly in liberated Mosul CBS News

Aside from the obvious trail of destruction left behind, there are still signs of the ISIS occupation, including two ISIS flags still flying above an overpass.

Lt. Gen. Abdulwahab al Saadi CBS News

Lt. Gen. Abdulwahab al Saadi said that he’s counting on more support from President Donald Trump.

“We need airstrikes,” the general said. “We need more equipment, including drones.”

That might be a tough sell with the new president, given that the U.S. has launched countless airstrikes in the assault on Mosul and spent millions retraining and arming the Iraqi Army.

But the general said the Iraqi army still needs more help.

For those in Mosul exhausted by the fighting, that’s the last answer they wanted to hear.