During the jihadist occupation and in the conflict phases which ended in December 2017 with the Iraqi armed forces reconquering Mosul, the church of St Thomas had suffered serious damage to the external walls and the internal colonnade that separates the naves. The symbolic extent of the restoration of the church of St Thomas was highlighted in a UNESCO statement, which describes the Christian place of worship as an emblem of the history of Mosul
In Mosul, Iraq, grieving families of hundreds of civilians who went missing during the war against the Islamic State (IS) terror group are urging the Iraqi government to help them find their loved ones….Top US military officer said Wednesday it was too early to talk about the future of US counterterrorism forces in Afghanistan, where insurgent violence continues
Talal Safawi, a sculptor in Mosul, is using his artistic skills to recover statues damaged by Islamic State. He tells VOA’s Kawa Omar that he kept his profession a secret during IS’s control because the jihadists thought it was heresy
Concerned about a rising Islamic State insurgency in their city, many residents of Mosul say they hope U.S. troops will remain to ensure a lasting defeat of the jihadists
The city of Mosul is one such place and residents say until it is rebuilt, stability will remain a distant dream
As Iraq marks the first anniversary of its declaration of victory over Islamic State, tensions are rising in the terrorist group’s former strongholds as attacks continue and security forces conduct near-daily operations against the militants
According to the CSIS report, The Islamic State and the Persistent Threat of Extremism in Iraq, IS attacks against Iraqi government targets increased from 2017 to 2018
After the defeat of the so-called Islamic State in Mosul in 2017, hundreds of IS families returned to their homes to regain normal lives. But the stigma of being related to IS fighters continues to haunt them. VOA’s Kawa Omer reports from Mosul. VOA NEWS
The Great Mosque of al-Nuri in old Mosul was built in the 12th century. It held a symbolic importance for IS, as it was used by the terror group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014 to declare the plan for a so-called caliphate