Iraq’s campaign to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State and restore the Iraqi government’s authority requires coordination among numerous armed groups with competing interests.

Despite facing territorial losses, the Islamic State shows no sign of relenting in its campaign to spread terror beyond Iraq and Syria, says journalist Rukmini Callimachi.

Libya’s UN-brokered unity agreement is fragile at best and could fracture in the event of a stepped-up Western intervention against Islamic State forces, says expert Mary Fitzgerald.