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Instability in Iraq

U.S. Envoy: Islamic State Fighters Trapped in Mosul

  • Iraqi forces cut off the final road leading out of Mosul, trapping the remaining fighters of the self-proclaimed Islamic State inside (BBC)

Iraqi Forces Overtake Main Government Offices in Mosul

  • Iraqi troops have reportedly recaptured Mosul’s main government offices from the so-called Islamic State (BBC)

Second Bridge in Mosul Taken by Iraqi Forces

  • Iraqi Troops in Mosul overtook the al-Hurriya bridge, which extends over the Tigris River, from so-called Islamic State militants (BBC)

Thousands Flee West Mosul in Last Ten Days

  • Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been displaced from west Mosul in the last ten days, amidst Iraqi troop efforts to retake the city from the Islamic State (Al Jazeera)

Iraqi Military Retakes Mosul Bridge

  • The Iraqi military said that it retook Mosul’s southernmost bridge, one of five bridges across the Tigris River, which could allow forces to transport supplies into the city (BBC)

Mosul Airport Reclaimed from Islamic State

  • Iraqi forces recaptured the Mosul airport in the city’s west from the self-proclaimed Islamic State. IS members fired mortars from further within the city after losing to forces on the ground (BBC)

Islamic State Claims Car Bomb Attack

  • Forty five people were killed in a prominently Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, where car dealerships were mainly targeted. The Islamic State posted claims of the attack on their news agency online (Associated Press)

Clashes in Baghdad Leave Six Dead

  • Clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against the electoral commission in Iraq have left six people dead, heightening tensions between Shiite leaders (Reuters)

Report: ISIS Territory Shrunk 23 Percent in 2016

  • Territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Islamic State shrunk 23 percent in 2016, following a similar contraction of 14 percent the year before, according to defense research firm IHS Markit (Newsweek)

Parliament Speaker Calls for Investigation into Airstrikes

  • Iraq’s Parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri called for an investigation into airstrikes that killed dozens of civilians. The airstrikes targeted a western border town held by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (Reuters)

Iraqi Army Begins New Assault on Mosul

  • Iraqi army units launched a new attack on Mosul from the southeast, advancing towards a bridge in the center of the city (Reuters)

Iraqi Forces Shell West Mosul in Preparation for New Front

  • Western-backed Iraqi forces started shelling west Mosul to open a new front in the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (Reuters)

Iraq Gives Militia Units Official Status

  • The Iraqi parliament made militia units, including those accused of human rights abuses, an official part of the country’s security forces in a vote that was boycotted by most Sunni politicians (Washington Post)

Report Documents Islamic State’s Use of Chemical Weapons

  • The self-proclaimed Islamic State has used chemical weapons at least fifty-two times in Iraq and Syria since 2014, according to a new report from the research group IHS Conflict Monitor (New York Times)

Iraqi Forces Capture Strategic Airbase West of Mosul

  • Iraqi paramilitary forces have captured a strategic airbase near the city of Tal Afar from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (CNN)

Islamic State Reportedly Kills Twenty-One Civilians in Mosul

  • The self-proclaimed Islamic State reportedly killed twenty-one civilians in Mosul whom the group accused of working with U.S.-backed forces (Reuters)

Suicide Bombing Kills Six South of Baghdad

  • A suicide bombing by the self-proclaimed Islamic State killed six civilians and wounded six others in the city of Karbala, after five other attackers were detected and killed by security forces (AP)

Pentagon Announces Civilian Toll in Anti-ISIS Strikes

  • U.S. air strikes targeting the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have killed up to 119 civilians since 2014, the Pentagon said, offering a lower figure than that of some independent monitors (Middle East Eye)

Dozens of Bodies Found in Mass Grave Near Mosul

  • Iraqi military and police forces said they have discovered a mass grave holding dozens of bodies near a small town south of Mosul (Washington Post)

Islamic State Releases New Recording of Leader

  • An audio recording purporting to be from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, called on militants to remain resolute and to take their battle to Turkey, as Iraqi government-led forces battle to retake the city of Mosul (Al Jazeera)

Iraqi Troops Gain Foothold in Eastern Outskirts of Mosul

  • Elite Counterterrorism Service troops retook the eastern Kukjali area and reached the more built-up Karama district on November 1, having entered the city for the first time since it was taken by the Islamic State in June 2014. The Iraqi military said that units from the army had also entered the Judaydat al-Mufti district to the southeast (BBC)

Five Thousand Shiite Fighters Join Mosul Offensive

  • Five thousand Shiite fighters have joined the offensive in Mosul against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, Iraq’s state-sanctioned Shiite militias said (CBS)

Islamic State Slows Iraqi Army South of Mosul

  • Fighters from the self-proclaimed Islamic State continue their fierce defense of the southern approaches to Mosul, holding up Iraqi troops and forcing an elite army unit east of the city to delay a more rapid advance (Reuters)

UN Receives Reports of Atrocities Committed by Islamic State Militants

  • UN human rights staff have received reports of atrocities committed by self-proclaimed Islamic State militants as Iraqi and Kurdish forces advance on the city of Mosul (BBC)

Iraqi and Kurdish Forces Open Northern Front in Mosul Offensive

  • Iraqi and Kurdish forces opened a new front in the campaign to seize back Mosul, as Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that “the forces are pushing towards the town more quickly than we thought” (Reuters)