As Assault On Mosul Looms, Resistance Grows — And ISIS Grows More Brutal

Peshmerga forces stand guard in Nineveh, Iraq as U.S. artillery units bomb ISIS positions in the east of Mosul during an operation to retake Mosul from ISIS on Oct. 15, 2016.
Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
ISIS has held the Iraqi city of Mosul in a tight, brutal grip for more than two years. Now, a motley array of Iraqi forces and their allies are massing to try to retake the extremists’ crown jewel and their largest city.
Whether the offensive is successful — pushing out the militants