#HTE

The Ongoing Battle for Mosul (36 photos)

A month ago, thousands of Iraqi and Kurdish troops, supported by the United States, France, and Britain, began a massive operation to retake Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul from ISIS militants. Thousands of bombs have been dropped by coalition aircraft over the past few weeks, as ground forces move from village to village, house to house, advancing on central Mosul. ISIS fighters have put up strong resistance, setting fire to oil reserves, killing some civilians and using others as human shields, while thousands of refugee families continue to flee the violence. While progress is being made by Iraqi forces toward surrounding and recapturing Mosul, the campaign may drag on for many more weeks or months.

A fighter from the NPU (Nineveh Plain Protection Units) walks through a destroyed church on November 8, 2016 in Qaraqosh, Iraq. The NPU is a military organization made up of Assyrian Christians and was formed in late 2014 to defend against ISIL. Qaraqosh, a largely Assyrian City just 32km southeast of Mosul was taken by ISIS in August of 2014 forcing all residents to flee, the town was largely destroyed with all of the churches burned or heavily damaged. The town stayed under ISIS control until the previous week when it was liberated during the Mosul Offensive. (Chris McGrath / Getty)
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/11/the-ongoing-battle-for-mosul/507761/