On Mosul frontlines, Islamic State’s local fighters direct the battle
As Iraqi government forces advanced towards his eastern Mosul neighborhood in November, a group of Islamic State militants stormed Abu Rami's home, put a gun to his head and told him and his family to get out immediately. Residents told Reuters during a visit to the Muharibeen district on Friday how the battle played out […]Stephen Kalin writes for Reuters:
As Iraqi government forces advanced towards his eastern Mosul neighborhood in November, a group of Islamic State militants stormed Abu Rami's home, put a gun to his head and told him and his family to get out immediately.
Residents told Reuters during a visit to the Muharibeen district on Friday how the battle played out for them, describing scenes likely repeated in one form or another across the city.
Abu Rami, a 54-year-old former government employee, described a division of labor among Islamic State militants at the frontlines: a group that plants explosives, one that has snipers and another that serves as local guides.
