Mosul partly liberated from islamic state by iraqi forces in 2003. Its population remains mostly Sunni Arab, but mostly Sunnis. Iraq became the third Arab country to become a caliphate in January 2015, following Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a US-educated Isis spokesman, told the Al-Hayat newspaper: “These [rebels] are of the ‘holy army of the Caliphate, a powerful force against the infidels and those trying to oppress them, against Christians, against Jews, against people of the Islamic faith and against the Alawites.”
Abu Omar al-Shishani, a member of Islamic State’s top leadership, who is also believed to be in London, claimed that IS’s fighters had also taken some prisoners in the city and that many of its members were already on their way to Mosul, the capital of Anbar province in northern Iraq, although he gave no further deta우리카지노ils.
While Abu Omar al-Shishani acknowledged a link between I더킹카지노S fighters and other jihadi groups fighting alongside Isis in Syria, he emphasised that they were not involved in violence.
An Iraqi journalist living close to the우리카지노 frontline said: “The main people in the [Mosul] town are Sunni, mainly from Anbar.” Some members of the Islamic State, however, may be taking on members of more moderate groups such as al-Qaida’s affiliate in the Middle East in Iraq, the al-Shabaab, he added.
“IS [islamic State] has been in Mosul, so it can be assumed it will come to Anbar. If they are [Islamic State fighters] then it is a big deal as Anbar is the last big battle that will determine the future of Iraq. But I do not know of any IS members living here.”
Additional reporting by Ali Abunimah in Baghdad
September 10th, 2020 
