The World from PRX

Mosul

Religion
The iconic Al-Hadba minaret has been restored in Mosul
6:30
people walking down the street in a devastated area of the city
Conflict & Justice
4 years later, the legacy of ISIS prevents these Iraqi children from going to school
Smoke rises from the Trade Ministry in Baghdad after it was hit by a missile during US-led attacks, March 20, 2003.
Military
An Iraq vet grapples with lingering toll of war
Students gather to take a group picture during the library repat the University of Mosul in front of the theatre on Feb. 19, 2022.
Culture
After years of conflict and rebuilding, Mosul University’s Central Library marks new beginning  
The outside of an old Jewish home in Mosul.
Sacred Nation
Signs of a forgotten Jewish past in Mosul
Iraqis put up a poster announcing the upcoming visit of Pope Francis and a meeting with a revered Shiite Muslim leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, right, in Najaf, Iraq, March 4, 2021.
Sacred Nation
Pope Francis’ historic trip to Iraq embraced by many as a welcome boost
An archbishop blesses a man with his golden cross
Human rights
Iraqi archbishop who helped save ancient manuscripts from ISIS nominated for EU award
Two people carry luggage down a bombed out street in Mosul.
Critical State
Civilian decisions in conflict: Part I
Iraqi young volunteers spray with disinfectants to combat an outbreak of coronavirus during a curfew imposed by Iraqi authorities, in the old city of Mosul, Iraq, March 15, 2020.
Education
Online learning is a big struggle in formerly ISIS-controlled Mosul
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Baghdadi’s death is a huge blow to ISIS, but history suggests it won’t guarantee a safer world
The front of mosque is seen amid rubble. Behind the door, is a distinctive blue dome.
On Yom Kippur, remembering Mosul’s rich and diverse past
A demonstrator gestures as he stands close to burning tires blocking a road during a protest over unemployment, corruption and poor public services, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 2, 2019.
Dozens dead as Iraqi youth protest poverty, corruption and injustice
St. Shmuni Church in Bartella, Iraq, shows damage sustained while the town was under ISIS control for two years.
Conflict
ISIS turned this young Iraqi Christian into an atheist
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford is stands at a podium during a press conference.
Conflict
Pentagon looks at stepping up its role in Africa to counter ISIS
Military vehicles of Iraqi security forces are seen in Mosul's Old City.
Conflict
A US-trained Iraqi unit allegedly carried out executions in Mosul
Members of Iraqi Federal police carry suicide belts used by Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul.
Conflict
Clearing mines and explosives in Mosul
An Iraqi man holds a picture of victims of the Karrada suicide bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq on July 10, 2016, one week after the attack.
Conflict
More than 75 percent of terrorist attacks in 2016 took place in just 10 countries
A view of part of western Mosul, Iraq, on May 29.
Conflict
Were high civilian casualties in Mosul unavoidable?
Staffan de Mistura
Conflict
There’s ‘higher potential’ for achieving peace in Syria, UN envoy says
Iraqi Federal Police celebrate in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq on July 8, 2017.
Conflict
Iraq’s prime minister declares victory against ISIS in ‘liberated’ Mosul
A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fires an anti-aircraft weapon from Tel Tawil village in the direction of Islamic State fighters positioned in the countryside of the town of Tel Tamr in 2015.
Conflict
Three years after declaring a ‘caliphate,’ ISIS is failing
Conflict
After ISIS counterattack, Iraqi forces continue bloody offensive in Mosul
Mourners carry the coffin of a member of Iraqi security forces, killed during clashes in Mosul.
Conflict
ISIS is cornered in Mosul’s Old City. Militants are using everything they’ve got to hold on.
Mosul minaret
Conflict
Iconic ‘Hadba’ minaret destroyed as ISIS loses ground in Mosul
soldier
Conflict
One American family’s mission to rescue civilians in Mosul
A bulldozer attempts to extinguish a fire in a destroyed vehicle at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad.
Conflict
Iraq’s army is fighting ISIS with bulldozers
Car bomb in Baghdad
Conflict
ISIS bombs an ice cream shop in Baghdad
Lula the bear
Conflict
Lula, a bear, and Simba, a lion, have been rescued from the Mosul zoo
A woman walks along a damaged street in Aleppo, Syria February 2, 2017.
Conflict
Do civilian deaths in Mosul and Aleppo deserve the same scrutiny?
Lina Shahab is recovering in a hospital in Erbil, northern Iraq, after surviving an airstrike in Mosul.
Conflict
‘I saw everything burning’: Iraqi survivors of a suspected US coalition airstrike speak
Iraqi rapid response members fire a missile against ISIS militants in Mosul, Iraq, on March 11.
Conflict
US says ISIS fighters are ‘trapped’ as Iraq retakes a third of western Mosul
Father Khalil Jaar sits in St. Mary's church in Marka, 15 minutes outside of Amman, Jordan.
Conflict
This Palestinian priest found his calling at a little church in Jordan
Iraqi soldiers inspect the remains of the Tomb of Prophet Yunus, destroyed by Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq, January 28, 2017.
Media
What’s the battle to retake Mosul like? This documentary takes you there.
For two years, Ismail al-Kanon and his mother, Jandar Nasi, were captives of ISIS. More than most living under the terror group’s rule, they had reason to expect that they would never escape — because they were Iraqi Christians.
Conflict
How an Iraqi Christian teenager survived two years in the heart of the ISIS ‘caliphate’
Zikra Younis, right, and her daughter Huda at the Khazer camp for displaced people. The camp is east of the Iraqi city of Mosul, where they escaped from last November.
Conflict
This Iraqi woman escaped ISIS and a bad marriage, all for the love of her children
Iraqi special forces intelligence agents check men's IDs in the search for Islamic State fighters in Mosul, Iraq on Nov. 27.
Conflict
What happens to ISIS fighters when they are captured
A group of kids play in the Mosul
Conflict
Civilians fleeing Mosul face a deadly journey to freedom
Iraqi men at a barber shop in the Intisar district of Mosul
Conflict
ISIS jailed and beat up this Iraqi barber for giving the wrong haircut
Nouhad was sold to an ISIS fighter when she was 16.
Conflict
This Yazidi woman escaped her ISIS captors in Mosul, but had to leave her infant son behind
A US armed forces member stands near a military vehicle, north of Raqqa, Syria on Nov. 6.
Conflict
US-backed forces launch assault on ISIS ‘capital’ in Syria
A group of Mosul exiles set up al-Ghad radio station to reach people in their city under ISIS control. The station manager says it's also helping people in the city communicate with one another.
Media
This Iraqi radio station reaches people in Mosul who risk their lives to call in
A newly displaced man carries a boy at a check point in Qayyara, east of Mosul, Iraq on Oct. 26.
Conflict
UN says ISIS is marching thousands into Mosul as human shields
A woman and her child, having fled Qayyarah, arrive at a front line position.
Conflict
Life under ISIS is ‘endlessly frightening and endlessly tedious’
Kurdish forces in battle for Mosul, Iraq
Conflict
Mosul after ISIS will be a test for all of Iraq
An employee works at strengthening the Mosul Dam in northern Iraq, in February 2016.
Conflict
Mosul Dam could be scarier than ISIS
A member of the Iraqi security forces gestures at a government complex in the city of Ramadi, December 28, 2015.
Conflict
Iraq scores a victory and rides high on confidence
Shiite fighters fire a rocket during clashes with ISIS militants in Iraq's Salahuddin province on March 1, 2015. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen sought to seal off ISIS in Tikrit and nearby towns.
Conflict
The US is sitting out Iraq’s big battle in Tikrit — but Iran isn’t
A man looks at an ancient Assyrian statue of a winged bull with a human head at the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad on February 28, 2015.
Culture
After more than a decade, Iraq’s national treasures go back on display
Culture
Experts watch in horror as Islamic State fighters destroy ancient artifacts
Illustration of Mosul, Iraq
Conflict
Illustrator Molly Crabapple creates rare glimpses of life under ISIS with her drawings
Policemen who fled Mosul train in a camp near Erbil to try to take their city back from ISIS.
Conflict
The men who ran from ISIS in Mosul say they’re ready to take the city back
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds a weapon while another holds a flag in the city of Mosul, shortly after the Islamic State captured the city. The flag reads, "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
Conflict
The so-called Islamic State is even worse than you thought
The main atrium of this would-be mall is now home to hundreds of Iraqis from villages outside Mosul. Here the concrete floors and walls give families more protection than the displaced families living in tents in a public park just across the street.
Conflict
Erbil’s abandoned construction sites are a ‘saving grace’ for refugees
A scene from the new Iraqi TV show, State of Myths, which satirizes the Islamic State.
Media
When faced with ISIS, some Iraqis choose to laugh
Displaced women from the minority Yezidi sect. ISIS is increasingly subjecting women to rape, as well as forced conversions and marriage.
Belief
Some Yazidi women who have escaped ISIS barbarism aren’t hopeful for their futures
“Long live the Iraqi army,” tattooed on Sirgon Horomes’ arm. He says now he’s disappointed the army did not protect him and other Christians.
Conflict
Thousands of young Christian Iraqis have joined the fight against ISIS — but few have faith it will help
People walk through the rubble of the Prophet Younis Mosque after it was destroyed in a bomb attack by militants from ISIS in the city of Mosul on July 24, 2014.
Conflict
Mosul residents will be listening closely to President Obama’s speech
A table of young men at the Al Atrakchi House cafe in Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood. It's decorated with antique Iraqi furniture and artifacts. The owner says he's created this space to remind Iraqis of their country's rich history in hopes they'll be in
Culture
Why these Iraqi kids are bucking the trend — and their parents — to stay in Baghdad
A man stands on the banks of the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) northwest of Baghdad on November 1, 2007.
Conflict
The Mosul Dam is a ‘ticking time-bomb’ for more reasons than you might think
A Kurdish resident holds a signs during a demonstration in support of peshmerga troops in front of the US consulate in Erbil, Iraq.
Conflict
War, politics and humanitarian disasters give Iraq a perfect storm of crises