Mosul
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Mosul (Şablon:Lang-ar Şablon:Transl, North Mesopotamian Arabic: Şablon:Transl; Şablon:Lang-ku,Şablon:Lang-syr, Şablon:Lang-tr) is a city in northern Iraq. Since October 2016 it has been the site of a military operation led by the Iraqi Government, under Haider al-Abadi, in an effort to dislodge and defeat militant forces. The city has been under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since June 2014, and no westerner has entered the city until the latest initiative. The Battle of Mosul, a military offensive to retake the city begun in October 2016, is the largest deployment of Iraqi forces since the 2003 invasion by U.S. and coalition forces.<ref>Şablon:Cite news</ref>
Located some Şablon:Convert north of Baghdad, the city stands on the west bank of the Tigris, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank. The metropolitan area has grown to encompass substantial areas on both the "Left Bank" (east side) and the "Right Bank" (west side), as the two banks are described by the locals compared to the flow direction of Tigris.
At the start of the 21st century, Mosul and its surrounds had an ethnically and religiously diverse population; the majority of Mosul's population were Arabs, with Assyrians,<ref>Soane, E.B. To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise. John Murray: London, 1912. p. 92.</ref><ref>Rev. W.A. Wigram (1929). The Assyrians and Their Neighbours. London.</ref><ref>Unrepresented Nations and People Organization (UNPO). Assyrians the Indigenous People of Iraq [1]</ref> Armenians, Turkmens, Kurds, Yazidis, Shabakis, Mandaeans, Kawliya, Circassians in addition to other, smaller ethnic minorities. In religious terms, mainstream Sunni Islam was the largest religion, but with a significant number of followers of the Salafi movement and Christianity (the latter followed by the Assyrians and Armenians), as well as Shia Islam, Sufism, Yazidism, Shabakism, Yarsanism and Mandaeism.
The city's population grew rapidly around the turn of the millennium and by 2004 was estimated to be 1,846,500.<ref>Şablon:Cite web</ref> An estimated half million people fled Mosul in the second half of 2014 when the IS fought with government forces for control of the city. On November 17, 2014, ISIS attacked the city of Mosul, ultimately killing seven civilians, two soldiers, and wounding 35 others.<ref name="ohchr">Şablon:Cite web</ref> While some residents returned, more fled in 2015 as fighting and violence increased, and US bombings pounded the city.
Historically, important products of the area include Mosul marble and oil. The city of Mosul is home to the University of Mosul and its renowned Medical College, which together was one of the largest educational and research centers in Iraq and the Middle East. The University has since been closed. The Islamic State's leadership in Mosul has kept the Medical College open but it is reported to be barely functional.
Until 2014, the city, together with the nearby Nineveh plains, was one of the historic centers for the Assyrians<ref>Dalley, Stephanie (1993). "Nineveh After 612 BC." Alt-Orientanlische Forshchungen 20. p.134.</ref><ref>Robert D Biggs - "Especially in view of the very early establishment of Christianity in Assyria and its continuity to the present and the continuity of the population, I think there is every likelihood that ancient Assyrians are among the ancestors of modern Assyrians of the area."</ref> and their churches; the Assyrian Church of the East; its offshoot, the Chaldean Catholic Church; and the Syriac Orthodox Church, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah, which was destroyed by Islamic State occupation army in July 2014.<ref>Şablon:Cite news</ref>
