Iraqi troops advance toward the Old City in western Mosul on March 13. The battle to retake the Islamic State stronghold in northern Iraq seriously tested the mettle of the Iraqi security forces.
(AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images) A view of the destruction wrought on Mosul's Old City, the final battleground in the campaign to rid the city of Islamic State presence. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on July 9 to congratulate the Iraqi security forces ahead of the announcement of Mosul's liberation. (CARL COURT/Getty Images) Iraqi Federal Police engage an Islamic State position with mortar fire during the battle to recapture west Mosul, April 12. Despite being completely surrounded, Islamic State fighters put up stiff resistance, forcing Iraqi security forces to engage in house-to-house fighting to retake Iraq's second largest city. (MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images) A view of the Tigris River from the compound of the Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on June 16. The hotel was recovered by Iraqi troops earlier in the year. A screening center was established to receive the steady stream of Iraqis fleeing the fighting.
