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This is the city of Mosul, where the ISIS leader Abu Bakir al-Baghdadi proclaimed a Caliphate in June 2014.
This indicates how strategic and important Mosul is to ISIS, as often stated publicly by its leaders.
Tigris River runs through the city, splitting it into the right and the left partitions.
Due to its oil fields and vast agricultural land, Mosul is regarded the economic capital of ISIS.
ISIS funds its caliphate through selling oil and taxing farmers, which is why losing the city means losing their source of income.
The social structure of the city is complex. There’re Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians and Yezidis.
The ethnic background of its population is diverse as well, consisting mainly of Arabs, Kurds, Chaldeans and Assyrians.
For ISIS capturing Mosul was Islam’s victory over other religions, and a victory of the Arab nation over others.
Military analysts believe that Mosul offensive will be more challenging than previous anti-ISIS operations, as in Diyala, Tikrit and Ramadi.
The Iraqi and the global anti-ISIS coalition are expected to encounter military, political and geographical challenges in their assault on Mosul.
Daniel Davis, national security and foreign policy analyst believes: “The battle of Aleppo in Syria, however, offers a glimpse of what might await the ISF in Mosul.”
Losing Mosul will put military pressure on ISIS in Syria across the border and its capital of Raqqa.
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