Assault to retake Mosul from ISIS underway in Iraq

Catherine Garcia, The Week US's avatar
By
published
Iraqi forces head to Mosul.
(Image credit: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Sunday that a military operation by Iraqi troops, Kurdish peshmerga, and allied forces backed by the U.S.-led coalition is underway to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State.

ISIS has been in control of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, for more than two years, and it is their last major stronghold in the country. The operation has been in the planning stages for months, and more than 25,000 troops are taking part, The Associated Press reports. Residents were warned in advance of the offensive, and the U.N. said at least 1.2 million people might be affected, an "enormous" humanitarian impact.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Catherine Garcia, The Week US
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.