Raging for nine months, the street-by-street fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State outlasted the Battle of Verdun — the longest and largest conflict of World War I. As Iraqi forces won back the city this week, death, destruction, and dust are all that’s left in Iraq’s second-largest metropolis. Satellite images provided to Foreign Policy by DigitalGlobe vividly illustrate this shocking transformation.
Overview of Mosul's Old City and east Mosul in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe
The Islamic State's main hospital in Mosul and the Mosul Hotel in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe
[What Comes After ISIS? — The jihadi group’s defeat in Mosul and Raqqa is about to usher in a new era — and new conflicts — across the Middle East.]
The Fifth Bridge north of the Old City in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe
Mosul's historic Al-Nuri mosque in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe
[Mosul Back in Iraqi Hands, But Still ‘Tough Fight Ahead’ — Iraq’s second city has fallen. ISIS isn’t dead yet, though.]
The bridge into Mosul's Old City in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe
Southeast of the Islamic State's main hospital in Mosul in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe
[The Lost Children of Mosul — Thousands of young Iraqis have been trapped, displaced, or killed during the fight to retake Mosul.]
A sports complex in Mosul in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe
Jesse Chase-Lubitz
Adam Griffiths has been Foreign Policy’s online creative director since May 2016. Previously, he worked in many roles from 2010 until then at the Washington Post Express, ultimately serving as deputy creative director. His work, including as part of the redesign of Express in 2014, has received recognition by the Society for News Design. Adam is a graduate of Kent State University. ()
