The Battle for Mosul Enters Its Final Stage

Eight months ago, thousands of Iraqi and Kurdish troops, supported by the United States, France, Britain, and other western nations, began a massive operation to retake Iraq's second largest city of Mosul from ISIS militants. Now, after months of war, the Iraqi military says it has reached the final few days of the battle, having encircled an estimated 350 remaining Islamic State militants in Mosul’s Old City . Reuters reports that more than 50,000 civilians remain trapped in the Old City, as ISIS fighters are “dug in among civilians in crumbling houses, making extensive use of booby traps, suicide bombers and sniper fire to slow down the advance of Iraqi troops.” Also, see previous stories on the battle for Mosul here, here, here, and here.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Kyodo / Reuters

    Images of the Destruction Left by Typhoon Jebi in Japan

    Yesterday, the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years tore through the western part of the country with heavy rain and violent winds.

  • Leo Correa / AP

    In Photos: The Smoldering Remains of Brazil's National Museum

    Photos from the scene of a fire that burned through the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, destroying countless artifacts.

  • Ahn Young-joon / AP

    Photos of the Week: Bog Snorkeling, Air Guitar, Canadian Calf

    Competition in the 2018 Asian Games, the new tallest statue in the world under construction in India, memorials for both Aretha Franklin and Senator John McCain, and much more

  • Lukas Bischoff Photograph / Shutterstock

    Photos: Along the Namibian Coast

    Namibia has nearly a thousand miles of coastline, shaped by the winds and largely unpopulated, where the Namib Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean.