Iraq launches offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State

By Maher Chmaytelli and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday launched a battle to liberate the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State in its most ambitious campaign since U.S. forces left five years ago, and the United States predicted the militant group would suffer "a lasting defeat." "I announce today the start of the heroic operations to free you from the terror and the oppression of Daesh," Abadi said in a speech on state TV, using an Arabic a