Five years after victory was announced by Iraqi security forces in the Battle for Mosul against the Islamic State (IS) in July 2017, Iraq’s Ninevah province watches warily as remnants of the international terrorist group continue to conduct sporadic attacks and operate within desert areas not far from the Syrian border.
In late June, IS claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and summary execution in a desert area of Ninevah of a man from the Jughayfa tribe they claimed was a member of the Iraqi security forces.