The Secret Eye Inside Mosul

The coalition fighting the Islamic State has reached the outskirts of Mosul, an Iraqi city seized in 2014. A clandestine blog, Mosul Eye, has documented life in Mosul under the terrorist group in terse lists and describes a city in ruins. Scholars suggest that the blog is written by someone in Mosul, providing details that could helpful coalition forces. ISIS has sent messages to the account, promising death for the blogger if identified and found. The city has access to social media, and Robin Wright, for the New Yorker, questions the blogger, a self-described “independent historian.” The interview has a tone of resignation, describing the fear permeating the population of 1.5 million and 9,000 ISIS troops, surrounded by Iraqi forces and militias, as well as the anticipation for high numbers of casualties. Huge challenges, including a strained relationship with Baghdad and the threat of revenge by Shiite militias, await Mosul even after the Islamic State is vanquished. – YaleGlobal