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First Person

An American in Mosul

Fighters from the Islamic State group parade
Fighters from the Islamic State group parade
Fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces vehicle down a main road in Mosul, Iraq, on June 23, 2014.

Journalist Mike Giglio provides an eyewitness account of a key battle against the Islamic State.

Islamic State fighters captured the northern Iraqi city of Mosul at the height of the group’s power in 2014. Thousands of people died in the fighting, and hundreds of thousands fled the city.

Two years later, an international coalition led by Iraqi forces embarked on a campaign to retake Mosul.

The American journalist Mike Giglio was embedded with Iraqi special operations forces who entered the city. He recounts the experience in his new book, Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate.

Giglio is our guest on First Person this week.

About First Person:  Each week on First Person, we conduct a narrative-driven conversation with one person whose experience illuminates something timely and important about our world. Our guests tend to be people who have participated directly in events, either as protagonists or eyewitnesses. We get them to tell their story, not just offer analysis. First Person is hosted by FP deputy editor Sarah Wildman. Sarah is an award-winning journalist whose stories have appeared in the New York TimesSlate, Vox and the New Yorker online. She is the author of Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind.  See All Episodes

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