IRAQ’S prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has claimed victory over Islamic State (IS), after his army captured the ruins of Mosul’s 12th-century al-Nouri mosque, where IS’s leader declared his “caliphate”. It has been an arduous campaign. Previous battles for the city have been short-lived. In 1918 and 2003 British and American forces marched into the city almost unopposed. But IS’s defence of Iraq’s second city against an overwhelmingly more powerful coalition has lasted for over eight months. Obstacles and trenches have cut up the approach roads into and all over the city. Even now two small pockets in the city remain, including several main streets in the heart of the Old City adjoining the Tigris River. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to remain under IS control.
The longer the fighting has continued, the more it appears to have intensified. With no escape routes, IS fighters scorched the earth as they retreated. With the same zeal they applied to...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2s99A6I
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