Mosul is the second most populated city in Iraq and mainly inhabited by
Sunnis. It fell under ISIS’ full control back in June 2014, largely due
to the deep mistrust that the indigenous
population had towards the Shia government of Iraq. It is in the Great
Mosque of Mosul that ISIS’ leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the
establishment of the so-called caliphate, that according to his vision,
would extend its reach across all of Syria and Iraq’s territory.
For
some time now, Mosul has remained the principal stronghold of ISIS,
therefore Washington would often refer to that city as “the capital of
ISIS”. This was done under US President Barack Obama, later announcing
an assault on this city during Hillary Clinton’s election campaign, and
was presented as a major goal for the US to achieve.
