Iraq

Military & Security

The Jihadist Wars

Iraqi forces launched a large-scale operation against the Islamic State in the northwestern district of Tal Afar, Rudaw reported Aug. 2.

Iraq: Army Begins Operation To Retake Tal Afar From Islamic State

The Battle for Mosul

The Fight Against the Islamic State

Turkey

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that a Turkish delegation will soon visit Iraq to discuss the imminent withdrawal of Turkish troops stationed in Iraq, Kurdistan 24 reported July 27.

Iraq: Delegation To Discuss Turkish Troop Withdrawal

Turkey's Resurgence

It is now believed more than 40,000 civilians were killed in the battle to retake Islamic State-held Mosul, The Independent reported July 19. 

Iraq: Mosul Civilian Deaths Much Higher Than First Estimated

The Islamic State claimed Tal Afar, located west of Mosul, as an independent state from its self-proclaimed caliphate, Bas News and Iraqi News reported July 13. 

Iraq: Islamic State Seeks Refuge In Tal Afar 

Terrorism and Security

War Coverage

Fighting between Iraqi government forces and the Islamic State broke out in Mosul on July 11 -– a day after Iraq's prime minister declared "total victory" over the jihadist group, AP reported.

Iraq: Clashes In Mosul Continue Despite Declaration Of Victory

Security

The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has declared Mosul "liberated", except for a few pockets that are still under Islamic State control, Amaq news agency reported.

Iraq: Mosul Declared Free From Islamic State Control

Politics

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on July 9 to congratulate Iraqi forces for their victory over the Islamic State in the city, BBC reported. 

Iraq: Prime Minister Arrives In Mosul To Congratulate Troops

As Iraqi troops celebrated in Mosul, Iraqi Federal Police Chief Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat declared his agency's mission in the embattled city complete with the capture of the last few areas that had been controlled by Islamic State forces, Rudaw reported July 8.

Iraq: Federal Police Declare Their Mosul Mission Accomplished

Mosul, Iraq’s energy-rich second city, is vital to the Islamic State. The operation to retake it from the jihadist group took more than a year to plan, and it has already taken several months to execute. But another competition will take place once the city falls, and it will be fought by the very players — Iran, Iraq and Turkey, to name a few — who once banded together to save it in the first place.

Mosul, Iraq’s energy-rich second city, is vital to the Islamic State.

United States

Russia

Iran

Syria

The Syrian Civil War

The Kurdish Struggle

Iran's Arc of Influence

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

The Pulse of Political Islam

Echoes of the Cold War

Assessments

Kuwait

Iraqi children who were residents of Mosul play at a camp for displaced people. The damage left by the battle to retake the city from the Islamic State is typical of areas around the country, which are in need of rebuilding.

Energy

A Crude Recovery

The country's security and political problems present barriers to the private investment needed to put its neglected and war-battered infrastructure back together.

The Tricky Business of Rebuilding Iraq

Columns

On Security

In the wake of the Islamic State's defeat in Mosul, the fight between the organization and its adversaries has reached an inflection point. 

Facing a looming defeat in Raqqa after losing Mosul, the jihadist organization will need time to regroup. But keeping it permanently contained will take a concerted counterinsurgency effort to establish stability and trust in governance.



Down but Not Out: How the Islamic State Could Rebound

Iraqi troops clear house-by-house, moving toward the Old City in western Mosul on March 13.

Stratfor has closely tracked the nine-month operation to retake Mosul. Now it is time to take stock of the impact of the fighting on the city, its inhabitants and the security forces responsible for its liberation. 

The Liberation of Mosul: A Visual Anthology

Media

Videos

Stratfor Middle East and North Africa Analyst Emily Hawthorne examines the progress of the Iraqi operation to retake Mosul. 

The Evolution of the 9-Month Fight for Mosul

Middle East and North Africa

The al-Nuri Mosque

With the defeat of the Islamic State, the government can claim one victory on a long road loaded with political land mines.

Charting a Course Beyond Mosul: No Easy Way Forward

Somalia

Libya

Afghanistan

Pakistan

ISIS bombmaking instructions

South Asian Militancy

Pakistan: A Military With a Country

Whether planning terrorist attacks or preventing them, wins by either side are often only temporary because of the rapidly shifting nature of the threat environment.

What Drives Terrorism Part 3: Counterterrorism Efforts

Snapshots

With the city's capture all but certain, tensions within the coalition fighting the jihadist group will flare once again.

Iraq: Mosul Offensive Winds Down, but the Islamic State Remains

On Geopolitics

Venezuela

China

North Korea

Europe

France

Trump's Foreign Policy Agenda

Economics

Globalization

Coping With a Nuclear North Korea

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

A daunting collection of crises is putting the bounds of presidential power to the test.

What Trump's Next 100 Days Will Look Like

Venezuela's Unraveling

Iraq's lawmakers have been discussing measures to reform the vital energy sector for more than a decade. But so long as the divisions between and within the country's political groups persist, the reforms will be stuck in a legislative stalemate. 

After just over 10 years of debate, amendment and repeated rejection in Parliament, Iraq's landmark oil bill is no closer to passing. The Cabinet first introduced the draft law in February 2007 to revamp and jump-start the country's crucial oil and gas sector after the fall of longtime leader Saddam Hussein. And though the intervening decade has done little to address the underlying factors that paralyzed Baghdad's attempt at reforming the energy industry, that hasn't stopped the country's leaders from trying. Since taking office in August, for instance, Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi has steered Iraq's energy policy in a more pragmatic direction. The legislature will soon debate the latest iteration of a bill to reinstate a national oil company to oversee the country's smaller, regional firms, and al-Luaibi recently announced that Baghdad is exploring new contract models for foreign investors. Leaders such as Shiite National Alliance head Ammar al-Hakim, meanwhile, have proposed various plans to reconcile Iraq's different stakeholders to end the country's political gridlock. Even so, the differences between and within Iraq's Sunni Arab, Shiite Arab and Kurdish communities will continue to undermine progress in the oil and gas sector, particularly with elections looming on the horizon.

Reform Eludes Iraq's Oil Sector

Few expected the fight to retake western Mosul from the Islamic State to be easy. But recent satellite imagery shows just how high a toll the battle has already taken on the Iraqi city's residents.

The Price of Reclaiming Mosul

Reflections

Washington's plan for fighting the extremist group ends in Mosul and Raqqa.

The global coalition has its work cut out for it in the military campaigns that lie ahead. Compared with the more clear-cut tactical aspects of the effort to rid Mosul and Raqqa of the Islamic State, however, the task of stabilizing the territories in the group's wake is far murkier. 

Against the Islamic State, the U.S. Focuses on the Battle, Not the War

It has been 20 days since Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the third stage of the Mosul offensive. Iraqi forces have since recaptured more than 25 percent of Mosul's western side, drawing on the knowledge and experience they gained during the fight for the eastern part of the city. On March 9, after visiting frontline troops, al-Abadi said that Mosul would be completely under government control within the month.

Iraq: Mosul Offensive to Wrap Up Within a Month, Prime Minister Says

The Battle for Mosul

SITUATION REPORTS

Iraq: Army Begins Operation To Retake Tal Afar From Islamic State

Iraq: Delegation To Discuss Turkish Troop Withdrawal

Iraq: Mosul Civilian Deaths Much Higher Than First Estimated

Iraq: Islamic State Seeks Refuge In Tal Afar

Iraq: Clashes In Mosul Continue Despite Declaration Of Victory

Iraq: Mosul Declared Free From Islamic State Control

Iraq: Prime Minister Arrives In Mosul To Congratulate Troops

Iraq: Federal Police Declare Their Mosul Mission Accomplished

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support