AP Explains: Iraq’s slow grind to retake IS-held Mosul
Iraq's fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group has been the largest and the longest operation against the extremists in the nearly three years since they overran a third of the country. Mosul is Iraq's second-largest city after the capital Baghdad and was a key logistical and economic hub for IS when the […]Iraq's fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group has been the largest and the longest operation against the extremists in the nearly three years since they overran a third of the country. Mosul is Iraq's second-largest city after the capital Baghdad and was a key logistical and economic hub for IS when the extremists' footprint spanned much of Iraq's north and into neighboring Syria. Iraq's prime minister had originally pledged Mosul would be retaken by the end of 2016, but it quickly became clear IS planned to draw out their inevitable defeat, leaving destruction and human suffering in their wake.
Below is a look at what makes the remaining battle so difficult.
