Mosul residents prepare for battle - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Saleh Elias

Saleh Elias

Mar 13, 2015

Volunteers to fight the Islamic State, from different Iraqi factions including Kurdish and Yazidis, train at a camping area near Kurdish security points on Bashiqa mountain, around 15km Northeast of the Islamic State held city of Mosul, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4SFUI — Volunteers from different Iraqi factions, including Kurds and Yazidis, train at a camping area on Bashiqa Mountain, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) northeast of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, March 7, 2015. — REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

Iraqi policemen dig trenches at checkpoint in the Iraqi town of Taji, at the entrance of Baghdad, on June 13, 2014, as security forces are bolstering defenses in the capital. Jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants pushed towards the capital and US President Barack Obama said he was exploring all options to save Iraq's security forces from collapse. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqis split over digging of security trenches

Adnan Abu Zeed

People walk past a banner (in black and white) belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the city of Mosul, June 28, 2014. Since early June, ISIL militants have overrun most majority Sunni Muslim areas in the north and west of Iraq, capturing the biggest northern city Mosul and late dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. The banner reads, "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger." REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3W71S

Services improve under IS in Mosul

Saleh Elias

Smoke rises in Egypt's North Sinai as seen from the border of southern Gaza Strip with Egypt July 1, 2015. Islamic State militants launched a wide-scale coordinated assault on several military checkpoints in Egypt's North Sinai on Wednesday in which 50 people were killed, security sources said, the largest attack yet in the insurgency-hit province. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1IMV7

Wilayat Sinai fails to cripple Egyptian army

A correspondent in Sinai

A correspondent in Sinai

Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Falluja, Iraq, June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX2H7ML

Security trench around Fallujah leaves residents feeling trapped

Mustafa Saadoun

Mustafa Saadoun