It used to be Iraq’s second largest and most vibrant city; now Mosul – which was recently recaptured from the Islamic State – lies under a pile of rubble.
As Foreign Policy magazine writes, “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.”
Here is the “before and after”:
Overview of Mosul’s Old City and east Mosul in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right
The Islamic State’s main hospital in Mosul and the Mosul Hotel in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
The Fifth Bridge north of the Old City in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Mosul’s historic Al-Nuri mosque in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
The bridge into Mosul’s Old City in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
Southeast of the Islamic State’s main hospital in Mosul in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
A sports complex in Mosul in November 2015, left, and July 2017, right.
For the full before and after photos, please go to Foreign Policy.
This article appeared at ZeroHedge.com at: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-16/shocking-and-after-satellite-photos-mosul