Ramadi residents say ISIS plans to use them as human shields

Habbaniyah, Iraq (CNN) Standing in the entrance of her tent on a chilly winter night in the Iraqi desert, Nada Saleh describes the terrifying moment her family almost became part of ISIS' last stand in Ramadi.

As government forces mounted their final assault to retake the key city -- controlled by the Sunni terror group since May -- ISIS began to pull families out of their homes and move them to the eastern part of the city.

Saleh says she and her six children watched as her husband stared down the militants, refusing to allow them to take his family.

The fighters dragged Saleh's husband away with a sword to his neck. Although he eventually managed to escape, he's been taken in for government questioning.

But the few hundred families massed here at this camp in Habbaniyah, a 25-mile drive east of Ramadi in Anbar Province, are the lucky ones.

Just a day ago these people were still inside Ramadi -- and although they're exhausted and cold, they're much safer here than at home.

The Iraqis say roughly 1,000 families remain trapped in Ramadi's eastern districts, some of which is still controlled by ISIS. The government believes they are being used as human shields.