The Debate: After Mosul: How to Win Peace in Iraq?

Inside Story - What Can Be Done To Stop Cultural Genocide?

For nearly a thousand years Al Nuri Mosque has been the centerpiece of the Old City in Mosul - until Wednesday when it was blown up destroyed during fighting. The mosque's been added to a long list of ancient pieces of history destroyed during wars in Iraq and Syria. How can the destruction be stopped? | Presenter: Sohail Rahman | Guests: Ahmed Zaidan, Journalist and documentary filmmaker: Michael Danti, Academic Director, American Schools of Oriental Research; Amr Al Azm, Shawnee State University in Ohio and former head of the Centre for Archaeological Research, University of Damascus

Mosul Offensive: New Phase in Battle for Iraq's Second City (Parts 1 & 2)

IS Stones To Death Man & Woman In Mosul For Adultery

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: In yet another display of how the Islamic State (IS) implements the Sharia law, a resident of Mosul narrated another recent incident of stoning to death of a man and a woman for adultery. The witness was a clothing store owner whose outlet is near a government building where the incident happens.

Abu Mohammad al-Lahibi, the shop owner, said the woman was in her 20s and married. Lahibi was not sure if the woman was given a fair trial since none was held before the stoning.

The two were handcuffed, while the woman wore a full face veil called niqab. Twelve IS militants stood before the condemned couple and had bags filled with stones. They started to throw stones on the two. On the third stone, the “adulteress” was killed, while the man died after her, recounts Lahibi. » | Vittorio Hernandez | Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Islamic State Extremists Bulldoze Ancient Nimrud Site Near Mosul

Nimrud is a 13th century BC Assyrian archaeological site close
to Mosul, which is controlled by ISIS militants.

THE GUARDIAN: Statement from Iraq’s ministry of tourism and antiquities says militants ‘defy will of world and feelings of humanity’ but does not state extent of damage

Islamic State (Isis) militants bulldozed the ancient Nimrud archaeological site near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday using heavy military vehicles, the government said.

A statement from Iraq’s ministry of tourism and antiquities did not elaborate on the extent of the damage, saying only that the group continued to “defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity” with this latest act.

Nimrud is a 13th century BC Assyrian archaeological site located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by Isis in June. The extremists, who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked other archaeological and religious sites, claiming that they promote apostasy. » | Associated Press in Baghdad | Thursday, March 05, 2015

British Hostage John Cantlie Gives Tour of ISIS-Held Mosul: Life Here Is "Business as Usual"

New U.S. Airstrikes Target ISIS Leaders Near Mosul, Iraq

Exiled Archbishop of Mosul: ‘I Have Lost My Diocese to Islam; You in the West Will Also Become Victims of Muslims’

BREITBART: The exiled Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul, Iraq, is warning westerners about welcoming an increasing number of Muslims into their countries, naively believing that they too believe in democratic principles.

“Our sufferings today are the prelude of those you, Europeans and Western Christians, will also suffer in the near future,” said Archbishop Amel Shimoun Nona in an interview by Corriere della Sera. “I lost my diocese. The physical setting of my apostolate has been occupied by Islamic radicals who want us converted or dead. But my community is still alive.” Read on and comment » | Dr. Susan Berry | Monday, August 18, 2014

'Emir' of Mosul Says Islamic State Has No Fear of US Air Strikes

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Haji Othman tells Italian daily that militant group's advances in Iraq are 'just the beginning' and that the world 'cannot imagine' the strength of its forces

Islamic State’s self-declared “emir” of Mosul says his fighters have no fear of American air strikes and that the world has so far seen just a fraction of the extremist group’s military strength.

Haji Othman, who identifies himself as one of the leaders of the “Islamic caliphate of Mosul”, warned that Christians in northern Iraq must convert to Islam, pay a tax as “non-believers” or face certain death.

Islamic State has made rapid advances in Iraq and is tightening its grip on Syria, where the group now controls around a third of the country.

They have successfully taken on the Syrian army, Kurdish militias and Sunni Muslim tribal forces but bigger military operations are to follow, Haji Othman told Corriere della Sera, one of Italy’s leading dailies.

“This is nothing. We’re just at the beginning. Up until now we’ve used just a small part of the forces that we have at our disposition. You cannot imagine how strong we really are. We have immense power. You’ll be amazed. You won’t be able to defeat us,” he told the newspaper, during a telephone conversation by mobile phone. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Monday, August 11, 2014

Edikt über den Gottesstaat: Mosul im Griff der Islamisten

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: In der irakischen Stadt Mosul haben die islamistischen Eroberer ein Dekret erlassen und damit begonnen, ihre Macht zu festigen. Wie ihre Herrschaft aussieht, kann man in Syrien studieren. Die Freude mancher Einwohner dürfte nicht lange anhalten.

Es sind Szenen, wie man sie im vergangenen Jahr in Syrien sah: Menschen feiern auf den Strassen den Einmarsch des Islamischen Staats im Irak und in Syrien (Isis). Jubelnd fahren sie in Autokorsos durch die Strassen der nordirakischen Millionenstadt und verteilen Süssigkeiten. Sehen kann man das in Videos, die im Internet zirkulieren. Dabei wissen auch die Bürger von Mosul, was auf sie zukommen dürfte. » | Inga Rogg, Istanbul | Sonntag, 15. Juni 2014

Militants on the March in Iraq: Will US Be Drawn In?

Jun. 11, 2014 - 7:48 - Reaction from Fox News military analyst Gen. Jack Keane

Iraq Crisis: Militants Attack Tikrit After Taking Mosul

BBC: Islamist insurgents have attacked the Iraqi city of Tikrit after the second city, Mosul, was earlier overrun.

Officials say militants are now in control of some parts of Tikrit - Saddam Hussein's hometown which lies just 150km (95 miles) north of Baghdad.

Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has vowed to fight back against the jihadists and punish those in the security forces who have deserted.

The insurgents who attacked Mosul are from the ISIS group.

It is not confirmed who is attacking Tikrit but one report said there was also fighting further south in Samarra.

ISIS - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is also known as ISIL - is an offshoot of al-Qaeda.

It controls considerable territory in eastern Syria and western and central Iraq, in a campaign to set up a militant enclave straddling the border. (+ video) » | Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Al-Qaeda Seizes Iraq's Third-largest City as Terrified Residents Flee

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Militants storm northern city of Mosul, freeing thousands of prisoners, as Iraqi army retreats and prime minister asks parliament to declare state of emergency


Al-Qaeda seized control of Iraq's third biggest city on Tuesday, freeing thousands of comrades in a series of jailbreaks and sparking a mass exodus of refugees.

The assault on the city of Mosul, 225 miles north west of Baghdad, saw the Iraqi army retreat to the outskirts after a sustained assault by men armed with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

As well as seizing the main governorate building - forcing the city's governor to flee - the gunmen were also reported to have gained control of three different jails, numerous police stations and an airport, where several military planes and helicopters were based.

The loss of the city, home to around one million people, is potentially a huge challenge to the Iraqi government, which has been struggling to quell a regalvanised al-Qaeda insurgency for more than two years.

Terrified residents of Mosul spoke of seeing militants raising al-Qaeda's black flag from buildings, and of newly-released prisoners running through the streets in yellow jumpsuits. » | Colin Freeman, agencies | Tuesday, June 10, 2014