Iraqi forces have been closing in on Mosul’s Old City for months, but remain hampered by difficult terrain and hundreds of remaining ISIS fighters now encircled in a small area with a large civilian population trying to escape. Eight months of warfare have taken an enormous toll on Iraq’s second city and its citizens. Much the same as other cities in the region once overrun by ISIS, then retaken by government forces, the damage to Mosul and its infrastructure is severe. The following images are from western Mosul over the past week.
Mosul in Ruins
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Iraqi civilians flee the Old City district where heavy fighting continues in Mosul, Iraq, on July 2, 2017. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance from Islamic State with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), car bombs, suicide bombers, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance. #
Martyn Aim / Corbis via Getty -
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Civilians trying to flee undress to be checked for explosives after suicide bombers attacked as Iraqi forces continued their advance against Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul on July 3, 2017. #
Felipe Dana / AP -
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Smoke billows next to the remains of al-Hadba minaret at ruined Grand al-Nuri Mosque after an artillery attack by the ISIS on positions of the Iraqi forces in the Old City in Mosul on July 2, 2017. #
Erik de Castro / Reuters -
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An Iraqi woman carrying an infant flees from the Old City of Mosul on July 5, 2017, during the Iraqi government forces' offensive to retake the city from ISIS fighters. #
Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP / Getty
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