Mosul Emerges FromIslamic State Siege Three years after Islamic State extremists seized Mosul, their defeat is at hand. ScrollIraqi Special Forces fighters and humvees ply the streets near the frontlines with Islamic State in the Old City of Mosul. Referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym, she said: "Daesh took my husband away four months ago because he was selling cigarettes. It was here that in July 2014 Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself caliph, or a guiding figure, for Muslims globally. The 850-year-old mosque's destruction speaks to both Iraq’s success in defeating Islamic State and the dire cost of the campaign.

Source: Wall Street Journal July 07, 2017 03:22 UTC