<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a970584aae60519008b46da-1024/dxgmnm4xkagf0a6.jpg" alt="Muhammad Najem Eastern Ghouta Syria" data-mce-source="Twitter/muhammadnajem20"><p class="source"><span>Twitter/muhammadnajem20</span></p><p class="caption">Muhammed Najem</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>A 15-year-old boy named Muhammad Najem, who lives in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, is tweeting pictures and videos of his region under attack from Russian and Syrian airstrikes.</strong></li><li><strong>His images and videos have not been independently verified, but activists on the ground have said that he is "legit."</strong></li><li><strong>Russian trolls have begun attacking him on social media.&#xa0;</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>15-year-old Muhammed Najem, who lives in the heavily bombarded area of Eastern Ghouta in Syria, first tweeted in early December 2017.</br></p><p>"I am Muhammed Najem I am fifteen years old I live in the eastern Gouta," Najem <a href="https://twitter.com/muhammadnajem20/status/938830178473725952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> on December 7. "I will convey to you all the events which is being commited by the assad rigime in the Eastern Gouta through my own social media Facebook and Twitter."</p><p>Najem, who says he wants to be a reporter, has since posted several heartbreaking photos and videos of children and adults killed in airstrikes, some of whom he says were his friends.</p><p>In early January, Russia and the Syrian regime stepped up airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta outside of Damascus. Between February 4 and February 21 alone, 346 civilians were killed and at least 878 more were wounded, <a href="https://twitter.com/airwars/status/966362825818959872" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Airwars.</p><p>More than 250 civilians were killed in one 48-hour period last week, and 400,000 people are currently trapped in what the UN has called "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/video-shows-mourning-for-dead-children-after-syrian-strikes-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hell on earth</a>."</p><p>In one of Najem's most gut-wrenching videos, he's standing on a rooftop speaking to the camera.</p><p>"We are killed by your silence," Najem&#xa0;<a href="https://twitter.com/muhammadnajem20/status/952897447180808192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> to the camera. "Bashar al-Assad, Putin and - " a bomb suddenly hits, and he pauses, clearly shaken, before finishing, "Khamenei. Khamenei killed our childhood."</p><p>While <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/middleeast/teenager-ghouta-selfie-videos-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/feb/24/the-syrian-teenager-tweeting-the-horror-of-life-in-ghouta-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a>,&#xa0;<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/rosebuchanan/trolls-who-accused-parkland-students-of-being-crisis-actors?utm_term=.ts0yrJMr5#.pnGMDkWDb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BuzzFeed News</a>, and other outlets have reported on Najem, the authenticity of his photos and videos have not been independently verified.</p><p>But Kenan Rahmani, who works with the Syria Campaign, told BuzzFeed <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">News</keyword> that his sources in the region have said that Najem is "legit."</p><p>Still, this has not stopped Russian trolls from attacking Najem on social media.</p><p>"CNN found a new Bana to promote its regime change narrative," Dan Cohen, a Russia Today correspondent, <a href="https://twitter.com/dancohen3000/status/966781383946522625" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> last week. "Unsurprisingly, neither the article nor video bother to mention that eastern Ghouta is held by a collection of jihadist insurgents."</p><p>The reality on the ground is more <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/who-are-the-rebel-groups-fighting-in-syria-s-eastern-ghouta" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nuanced</a> than Cohen claims. Ghouta is held by a number of Syrian rebel groups, one linked to the Free Syrian Army, which formed as an opposition group against Assad in 2011. Another smaller rebel group reportedly has links to al-Qaeda.</p><p>"Hello Amirecan people," Najem tweeted on Monday. "We are people of Eastern Gouta The world watching us die of hunger and bombing Look at this destruction This is similar to Europe before 80 years ago But We live today in twenty first century <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Help?src=hash" data-query-source="hashtag_click"><s>#</s>Help</a> us and donot be like the rest of the world."</p><p>&#xa0;</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>We know that you got bored from our blood pictures<br>But We will continue appealing to you<br>Bashar Al-assad, potin and khaminei killed our childhood<br>Save us before it is too late<br>What is the world, which can send machines to the martian and can't do anything to stop killing people <a href="https://t.co/QtVVWidkzx">pic.twitter.com/QtVVWidkzx</a></br></br></br></br></p>- muhammad najem  (@muhammadnajem20) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/952897447180808192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hello Amirecan people <br>We are people of Eastern Gouta  <br>The world  watching us die of hunger and bombing <br>Look at this destruction <br>This is similar to Europe before 80 years ago <br>But We live today in twenty first century <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Help?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Help</a> us and donot be like the rest of the world <a href="https://t.co/EGi3FjQn4u">pic.twitter.com/EGi3FjQn4u</a></br></br></br></br></br></p>- muhammad najem  (@muhammadnajem20) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/968114584992305157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/we-tried-mcdonalds-in-italy-fast-food-parmesan-snack-mozzarella-bites-2018-2">We went to a McDonald's in Italy - here are all the items you can only get there</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/cxv7zmDO-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

A 15-year-old Syrian boy is tweeting heartbreaking videos of Eastern Ghouta under attack from furious Russian and government airstrikes

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table lead-image-large"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d9f954acc4a0a1e3e491765-1707/yvonne-wassenaar-2-small.jpg" border="0" alt="Yvonne Wassenaar" data-mce-source="Puppet" data-mce-caption="Yvonne Wassenaar is CEO of Puppet." /><p class="source"><span>Puppet</span></p><p class="caption">Yvonne Wassenaar  is CEO of Puppet.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The move from chief information officer to CEO could become more common as tech leaders gain new authority in the C-suite, but there are few examples for current CIOs to learn from.</li><li>Yvonne Wassenaar went from CIO of software analytics company New Relic, Inc., to CEO of IT automation firm Puppet. She saw an opportunity as more companies don't just leverage technology "but fundamentally become technology companies."</li><li>Wassenaar credits her broad experience, strong network, and experience serving on boards of directors as the three criteria that prepared her for the CEO role. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary"><strong>Click here for more BI Prime stories.</strong></a></li></ul><p>The jump from chief information officer to CEO is a rare one, but such a move <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mulesofts-founder-on-why-cios-could-be-the-next-ceos">could become more common</a> as the role gains new authority within the C-suite.</p><p>Until recently, CIOs were largely regulated to overseeing IT teams in charge of managing back-office technology and helping employees with computers issues. But as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-ai-leader-uses-3-questions-to-guide-its-efforts-2019-10">more companies pursue digital overhauls</a>, the role is now one of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nationwides-cio-shares-strategy-first-90-days-on-the-job-2019-10">most critical</a> to the organization.</p><p>The transformations underway across corporate America are also spurring more boards to seek directors with tech backgrounds, giving information chiefs more exposure to leadership and putting them on the track to be considered for the top spot.</p><p>That means journeys like the one Yvonne Wassenaar took from CIO of software analytics company New Relic, Inc., to CEO of IT automation firm Puppet are likely to become increasingly frequent.</p><p>"More and more companies are not just leveraging technology, but fundamentally becoming technology companies," she told Business Insider in a recent interview. </p><p>Wassenaar 's trajectory serves as one of the few examples out there for information chiefs interested in pursuing a similar career path. Prior to Puppet - which works with companies like Staples and the New York Stock Exchange to automate IT tasks like data security and cloud management - she was the CEO of drone operator Airware. Wassenaar also sits on the board of directors of research firm Forrester.</p><p>She shared the three steps that ambitious CIOs should take right now to be considered for future CEO roles.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-changing-c-suite-how-tech-leaders-are-upheaving-organizations">THE CHANGING C-SUITE: What the rise of information, data, and tech chiefs says about the future of leadership in America's top companies</a></em></p><h2>Intertwine technical prowess with knowledge of the business</h2><p>As CIOs move further out of the back-office, they are increasingly responsible for understanding how core functions of the business operate, whether that be sales, supply chain operations, or HR.</p><p>Tech leaders are taking a number of approaches to managing this, including broad surveys of employees and customers during the early days on the job and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ibms-watson-head-outlines-model-for-successful-digital-overhaul-2019-10">finding internal advocates</a> they can work with within business units on specific projects.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5da086bacc4a0a14376f1a34-2400/expand my cio network - zuora option 2.jpg" border="0" alt="Wassenaar" data-mce-source="Yvonne Wassenaar" data-mce-caption="Alongside a diverse resume, Wassenaar relied on a strong network of contacts on the rise to CEO." /><p class="source"><span>Yvonne Wassenaar</span></p><p class="caption">Alongside a diverse résumé, Wassenaar relied on a strong network of contacts on the rise to CEO.</p></div><p></p></div></div>For Wassenaar , it meant making career moves to similar roles in sectors outside of IT. "That movement back and forth at different levels in my career was incredibly powerful," she said.</p><p>Wassenaar also earned an MBA from the University of California, though it's not a path she would necessarily recommend for up-and-coming CIOs today. While the programs provide great networking opportunities, exposure to a breadth of different areas of expertise, and the time to refine critical analytical and executive skills, those benefits can now be gained elsewhere.</p><p>"Business school had a clear return on investment when I went," Wassenaar said. Now, "the value proposition is less clear."</p><p>Many companies, for example, have internal leadership programs where tech employees are given exposure to different business units. And with a rush of new startups and the leadership potential there, information chiefs can also get a crash course in many different areas, like finance and production, that can serve as a basis for a future CEO role.</p><h2>Join a board of directors</h2><p>A critical step for CIOs looking to make the jump to CEO is joining a board of directors. But while such a move may have been more difficult in the past, Wassenaar says now is a <keyword id="46801" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="prime">prime</keyword> opportunity.</p><p>"There is an increasing interest at the board level to have more technology-savvy, data-savvy, cybersecurity-savvy people sitting in the boardroom," she said.</p><p>Having that experience can help CIOs better understand the business and "what it means to be in the CEO chair." Getting a position on a board, however, can be difficult. The first step, according to Wassenaar , is to understand the value you would bring and establish an identity around that.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5da0861ccc4a0a136a679863-2400/advising start up on scaling - option 1.jpg" border="0" alt="Wassenaar" data-mce-source="Yvonne Wassenaar" data-mce-caption="Wassenaar advising startup leaders." /><p class="source"><span>Yvonne Wassenaar</span></p><p class="caption">Wassenaar sits on the board of directors at research firm Forrester.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The key is to answer the question: "If I were running a company, why would I want somebody like me in there?" For some organizations, that could be experience in cloud technology. For others, it could be that they are on the verge of acquiring a string of smaller tech companies and need someone to help manage the mergers.</p><p>"It's a continual investment into cultivating and building a network so that when that opportunity comes up and they're looking for someone with that thing that you've built your brand around, they put the two pieces together and that's where the opportunities start," Wassenaar said.</p><p>The next step is shifting your mindset from being in an operating role to a strategic advisor. "That, interestingly enough, is probably one of the hardest shifts," she added.</p><p>One way Wassenaar suggests CIOs can begin to make that transition is to think more about the questions you want answered and spend less time mapping out a 10-step process of how you'd achieve a certain goal.</p><h2>Build an extensive network, but don't just focus on other tech leaders</h2><p>Ultimately, the key to getting on a board (or eventually obtaining the role of CEO) requires an extensive network of contacts. "Who you know and how they speak of you is really, really critically important," said Wassenaar.</p><p>In her case, she relied on a web of connections that included venture capitalists and other corporate executives to make sure "when a CEO opportunity came up I was somebody who made the list."</p><p>One common mistake among CIOs, however, is failing to expand your network beyond other tech leaders. It was a "key differentiator" for Wassenaar .</p><p>"If I want to become a CEO, it's very important that you know your mentors, your sponsors, the key people in your network who are privy to when those types of opportunities come around," she said.</p><p>That also includes your current employer. When Wassenaar was working in the office of the chief experience officer at software firm VMware she was upfront with her boss that she wanted to eventually lead a company. So when a job came around that allowed Wassenaar to continue on that path, it came as no surprise. </p><p>"It's not bad to be honest with the people that you work with, what you want to do, and your commitment to them on that journey to get there," she said. "You'd be surprised at how often by being that transparent, they can be very helpful." </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sneaky-ways-credit-card-companies-make-you-spend-more-money-2019-9">Sneaky ways credit card companies get you to spend more money</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/AygeXvFl-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A CIO who made the rare jump to CEO shares the 3 steps ambitious tech leaders should take if they ever want move up the ladder

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59461dee5124c9a726374172-800/iraqi-forces-say-started-storming-islamic-state-held-mosul-old-city-2017-6.jpg" alt="An Iraqi Army helicopter launches decoy flares over western Mosul, Iraq June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="An Iraqi Army helicopter launches decoy flares over western Mosul" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">An Iraqi army helicopter launches decoy flares over western Mosul.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Afghanistan dropped 5,075 bombs during close-air-support, escort, or interdiction operations in August, <a href="http://www.afcent.af.mil/Portals/82/Documents/Airpower%20summary/Airpower%20Summary%20-%20August%202017.pdf?ver=2017-09-07-104037-223" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according</a> to US Air Forces Central Command data.</p><p>The August total was the highest of any month during the three-year campaign against the terrorist group.</p><p>The previous monthly high was 4,848 in June. Each of first eight months of 2017 has exceeded the amount of bombs dropped in any other month of the campaign.</p><p>The number of weapons released through the first eight months of 2017 is 32,801, surpassing the 30,743 dropped all last year, which was the previous annual high for the campaign.</p><p>The 13,109 sorties so far this year is on pace to fall short of the total in 2016 and 2015 - both of which exceeded 21,100. The 8,249 sorties with at least one weapon deployed so far this year are set to top last year's 11,825, however.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59b9654c38d20d21008b586c-840/screen shot 2017-09-13 at 114732 am.png" alt="ISIS bombing" data-mce-source="Christopher Woody/US Air Forces Central Command" /><p class="source"><span>Christopher Woody/US Air Forces Central Command</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Both Iraq and Syria have seen intense urban fighting this year, which often requires more active air support.</p><p>The battle to retake Mosul in Iraq began in October 2016 and formally <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/09/world/middleeast/mosul-isis-liberated.html?mcubz=3&amp;_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ended in July</a>, while the final stage of fighting for Raqqa, ISIS' self-declared capital in Syria, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/06/middleeast/raqqa-syria-offensive-isis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">began in June</a> and is ongoing.</p><p>Not all aircraft active over Iraq and Syria are under Air Forces Central Command's control, so the figures <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-airstrike-total-against-isis-in-iraq-and-syria-2017-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">likely understate</a> the total number of weapons deployed.</p><p><keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">Defense</keyword> Secretary Jim Mattis also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mattis-personally-intervened-trumps-budget-request-get-more-bombs-drop-isis-2017-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">intervened to request</a> more money for bombs in response to concerns about expenditures in the US Central Command area of operations, which includes the Middle East.</p><p>Mattis asked for about $3.5 billion more for "preferred munitions," including 7,664 Hellfire missiles and 34,529 Joint Direct Attack Munitions.</p><p>During his campaign, President Donald Trump promised to "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-airstrike-total-against-isis-in-iraq-and-syria-2017-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bomb the hell out of ISIS</a>," and he appears to have keep that pledge.</p><p>Bombing during Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS in Iraq and Syria - the recent stages of which US commanders have referred to as an "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gen-joseph-dunford-on-the-us-annihilation-campaign-against-isis-2017-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">annihilation campaign</a>" - has reached "unprecedented levels" under Trump, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-dropping-bombs-at-unprecedented-levels-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according</a> to Micah Zenko and Jennifer Wilson of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the increase has extended to other areas, like Yemen and Somalia, as well.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/595d1c415124c9a5605f7b11-800/in-syrias-raqqa-corpses-left-to-rot-in-the-streets.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO: A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks at a smoke after an coalition airstrike in Raqqa, Syria June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="FILE PHOTO: A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks at a smoke after an coalition airstrike in Raqqa" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks on after an coalition airstrike in Raqqa, June 16, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The intensified bombing appears to have yielded a higher civilian death toll. There were at least 2,300 civilians killed by coalition strikes during the Obama administration, and between Trump's January 20 inauguration and mid-July, there had been over 2,200 civilian casualties, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/president-trumps-air-war-kills-12-civilians-per-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according</a> to monitoring group Airwars.</p><p>Other <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-dropping-bombs-at-unprecedented-levels-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates</a> put the number of civilian deaths much higher, and there is similar uncertainty about the number of ISIS fighters who have been killed. Coalition officials have made several estimates about the total slain, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-claims-to-have-killed-60000-isis-fighters-2017-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">despite doubts</a> about the utility and reliability of body counts.</p><p>Army Gen. Raymond Thomas, head of US Special Operations Command, said in July that "conservative estimates" put the number of ISIS dead <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gen-raymond-thomas-socom-60000-to-70000-isis-fighters-killed-2017-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">between 60,000 and 70,000</a>, echoing an statement he made in February.</p><p>The Pentagon said in summer 2016 that there were 15,000 to 20,000 ISIS militants left in Iraq and Syria, and US officials said in December that 50,000 of the terrorist group's fighters had been killed - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gen-raymond-thomas-socom-60000-to-70000-isis-fighters-killed-2017-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">twice as many</a> as the UK defense minister claimed had been killed that same month.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-secret-battle-us-marines-fighting-against-isis-2017-5">This is the inside account of the secret battle US Marines have been fighting against ISIS</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/vgLj2BPG-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

The US-led bombing campaign against ISIS set a record in August

<p>Iraqi ground forces have made quick advances against ISIS this year, breaking out of a funk at the end of 2016&#xa0;to retake the eastern half of Mosul during the first weeks of 2017.</p><p>The Iraqi government's campaign against the terror group's stronghold in Iraq's second-largest city has been aided by ongoing airstrikes by a US-led coalition.</p><p>In the clip below, distributed by the US <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Department, a coalition airstrike levels a building held by ISIS near Mosul on January 18.</p><p>The strike on the building near Mosul was one of <a href="http://www.inherentresolve.mil/Portals/14/Documents/Strike%20Releases/2017/01January/20170119%20Strike%20Release%20Final.pdf?ver=2017-01-19-051902-417" target="_blank">six strikes</a> in the country that day.</p><p>Elsewhere around the city, coalition aircraft engaged ISIS tactical units and destroyed two other buildings 49 watercraft, three barges, command centers, weapons caches, vehicles, and a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device facility.</p><p>In Mosul itself, Iraqi forces have secured the eastern half of the city, which is bisected by the Tigris River.</p><p>Both sides are now gearing up for the offensive against ISIS in western Mosul, where a dense warren of narrow streets and ancient buildings promises a hard-fought campaign, likely to be especially deadly for the hundreds of thousands of civilians thought to still be in the city.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58938aaa6e09a835008b4b50-2400" alt="Iraq Mosul ISIS hotel" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah" data-mce-caption="An Iraqi soldier holds his weapon while looking over a balcony in the Ninewah Oberoi Hotel in Mosul."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah</span></p><p class="caption">An Iraqi soldier holds his weapon while looking over a balcony in the Ninewah Oberoi Hotel in Mosul.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Accurate accounting of civilian casualities during the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is hard to come by, as propaganda and hard-to-access locations make precise reporting difficult. Estimates by <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> monitoring group Airwars put <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-un-says-mosul-air-strikes-kill-civilians-2017-1" target="_blank">the number of civilians dead</a> in Mosul from airstrikes at several hundred.</p><p>A recent <a href="http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/airstrikes-unreported-syria-iraq-afghanistan-islamic-state-al-qaeda-taliban" target="_blank">Military Times investigation</a> also found that the US military has underreported the number of deadly airstrikes for years, suggesting that the civilian toll from such bombings in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan may be much higher.&#xa0;</p><p>For now, before operations against western Mosul get started, Iraqi forces and ISIS fighters keep a wary eye on each other across the Tigris.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/586faa5af10a9a51098b6ed3-2400" alt="Iraq ISIS Mosul" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily" data-mce-caption="A member of the Iraqi rapid-response forces sits in a military vehicle during battle with ISIS militants in the Mithaq district of eastern Mosul, Iraq, January 5, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily</span></p><p class="caption">A member of the Iraqi rapid-response forces in a military vehicle during battle with ISIS militants in eastern Mosul, Iraq, January 5, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p><span>"They watch us, we watch them," <span>Mostafa&#xa0;</span>Majeed, a soldier monitoring ISIS activity from a vantage point in eastern Mosul, told Reuters in late January.</span></p><p><span>In eastern Mosul, freshly liberated from ISIS' strong-armed rule, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-in-parts-of-mosul-a-semblance-of-normality-despite-war-2017-1" target="_blank">signs of normalcy</a> have begun to return, but along with that normalcy comes reminders of the disregard many in the city, which is majority Sunni in&#xa0;a Shia-majority country, felt from the central government in Baghdad.</span></p><p><span><span>"If life does not improve, we will not accept this and there will be a revolt against the government," Ihsan Abdullah, a former traffic policeman who has not worked since ISIS swept into the city in mid-2014 and was forced to sell his clothes for food, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-freed-from-jihadists-mosul-residents-focus-fury-on-iraqi-politicians-2017-2" target="_blank">told Reuters this month</a>.</span></span></p><p><span><span>"If things don't change Islamic State will just come back," he added. "Mosul residents will support whoever can help them."</span></span></p><div><iframe src="//giphy.com/embed/26gs7O59Xx9nvMO3K" width="840" height="526" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iraqi-forces-discover-underground-isis-tunnels-mosul-2016-10">Footage reveals ISIS' secret underground tunnels near Mosul</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="liMGUyNzE6kBaBBNFH9wFDDc8iSmn5fp" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'liMGUyNzE6kBaBBNFH9wFDDc8iSmn5fp',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Watch a US-led airstrike level an ISIS-held building near the terror group's last Iraqi stronghold

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="BI Intelligence" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5540eeff6da811f47a9128d5-960/biieconomicimpactdrones-2.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5540eeff6da811f47a9128d5-1200-924/biieconomicimpactdrones-2.png?maxX=600" border="0" alt="BIIEconomicImpact_Drones" width="600" style="float: right;" /></a><p class="source"><span>BI Intelligence</span></p></div><p></p></div>A growing ecosystem of drone software and hardware vendors is already catering to a long list of clients in agriculture, land management, energy, and construction. Many of the vendors are smallish private companies and startups - although large defense-focused companies and industrial conglomerates are beginning to invest in drone technology, too. </span></p><p><span><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile">In the most recent in-depth report on drones from BI Intelligence</a><span>, we provide</span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> a list <em>and</em> brief profiles of dozens of civilian/commercial drone-systems and aircraft vendors that have come to prominence in recent years. This list is not comprehensive. (One market-research outfit, IBISWorld, has counted more than 60 UAV vendors operating in the US alone.) </span></p><ul><li>3D Robotics</li><li>Aerialtronics</li><li>Aeryon Labs</li><li>Airware</li><li>Altavian</li><li>Amazon Prime Air</li><li>Ascending Technologies</li><li>Aeronavics</li><li>AeroVironment</li><li>CybAero</li><li>DJI</li><li>Dreamhammer</li><li>EHANG</li><li>Facebook</li><li>Finmeccanica</li><li>Google</li><li>GoPro</li><li>Gryphon Dynamics</li><li>Hexo+</li><li>Honeywell</li><li>Indra</li><li>Insitu</li><li>Joby Aviation</li><li>Kespry</li><li>Matternet</li><li>Microdrones</li><li>Parrot</li><li>PrecisionHawk</li><li>Schiebel</li><li>SenseFly</li><li>Sky-Futures</li><li>Skycatch</li><li>Skydio</li><li>Skyspecs</li><li>SkyWard</li><li>Verifly</li><li>Zano</li><li>Well-known defense contractors: Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Textron, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Elbit, and Aeronautics LTD. </li></ul><p>In full, the report: </p><ul><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile">Shows how the drone industry has begun to see some consolidation and major investments from large industrial conglomerates, chip companies, and defense contractors</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.  </span></li><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile">Identifies the industries that will be the most promising target markets for drone tech vendors</a> </li><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile">Explains why technology barriers are at once a roadblock and a huge business opportunity</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile">Delves into how many of the notable early commercial UAV manufacturers are emerging outside of the US market</a><span><br /></span></span></li><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">Contains two detailed tables listing all the US companies already authorized to fly drones commercially, the brand/model of UAVs they'll use, and the applications they're supporting</a></li><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">Details the implications of the FAA's new proposed rules for commercial drones</a></li><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">Explores the top applications for commercial drones and why they have emerged as niches friendly to UAV technology</a></li><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">Lists the high-level attributes of UAV systems and hardware, and why there are certain obstacles that remain difficult</a></li><li><a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">Contains charts on commercial-drone market size, FAA exemptions, and direct economic impact</a></li></ul><p><strong>To access the full report from BI Intelligence, </strong><strong>sign up for a <span>14-day</span> <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">trial here</a>. Members also gain access to <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">new in-depth reports</a>, <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">hundreds of charts and datasets,</a></strong><strong> as well as <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/aerial-drones-market-forecasts-regulatory-barriers-and-leading-commercial-applications-2015-1?utm_source=House&amp;utm_medium=Edit&amp;utm_term=IMDME-DRONESLIST-2015-4-29&amp;utm_content=link&amp;utm_campaign=BIIMobile" onclick="this.href = this.href + '-' + window.location.search.substr(1).replace(/\&amp;\=/g, '-');">daily newsletters</a> on the digital industry</strong><strong>.</strong></p>

These are 44 of the major players in the fast-rising and rapidly consolidating global commercial drone industry

<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/552fbc86ecad04dc66e8a4dd-819-1024/image1-28.jpg?maxX=600" border="0" alt="Ted Ullyot" width="600"><p class="source"><span>Andreessen Horowitz</span></p></img></div><p></p></div>For better or for worse, most startups don't see themselves as mere companies. They're trying to do something different and new.</p><p class="p1">That means many so-called disruptive organizations are running into policies and lawmakers that have yet to catch up with the times. Now at least one VC firm wants to help move the tide along.</p><p class="p1">Andreessen Horowitz is announcing a new internal branch focused on Policy and Regulatory Affairs. At the helm of this new arm is Ted Ullyot. Ullyot is most famous for being Facebook's general counsel from 2008 to 2013.</p><p class="p1">Just looking through the company's own portfolio, it's easy to see where outdated regulations could be a problem.</p><p class="p1">Ridesharing startups like Lyft (as well as Uber, which isn't an Andreessen-Horowitz investment) have faced numerous regulatory questions from local lawmakers. Ditto for Airbnb, which has led many cities and states to re-think hotel laws. New companies like Airware and Skydio are looking to make money from drone technology,  where the FAA has only just begun looking into policies surrounding their use.</p><p class="p1">Inevitably companies like these face regulatory "opportunities and issues" as time goes on, said partner Margit Wennmachers. So Andreessen Horowitz is bringing on a guy who knows the legal terrain as well as the tech world. His role will be to bridge the two.</p><p class="p1">Ullyot said that his time at Facebook helped him understand the how critical it is that companies focus on policy hiccups head on. His experience at the then-somewhat young social network had him dealing with everyone from federal commissions to state Attorney Generals to even the European Commission.</p><p class="p1">"I observed that a lot of young tech companies were finding themselves in the same situation that we did in the early years," Ullyot said.</p><p class="p1">He sees his role as educating lawmakers about the issues he sees at hand, regulatory challenges, and networking with both Silicon Valley executives and lawmakers. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> He emphasizes that the</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> new role is not about advocating for the firm's companies, nor is it about lobbying: "It's mainly about connecting lawmakers, regulators, and other leaders on these issues," he said. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><p class="tagline">Disclosure: Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, is an investor in Business Insider.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-going-clear-scientology-prison-of-belief-documentary-tom-cruise-trailer-2015-2">This Scientology documentary made HBO hire 160 lawyers - here's the trailer </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o5dzJpczpndV8YG9M7cnoa3JXgQXBqja" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'o5dzJpczpndV8YG9M7cnoa3JXgQXBqja',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Facebook's former top lawyer joins powerful VC firm Andreessen-Horowitz

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55df9253bd86ef13008b6862-464-360/intel.png" alt="Intel" data-mce-source="Business Insider screenshot of Intel video"><p class="source"><span>Business Insider screenshot of Intel video</span></p><p class="caption">Intel CEO Brian Krzanich spies a drone</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Intel has got a thing for drones.&#xa0;<p>The world's largest chipmaker announced this week that it invested $60 million in a Chinese drone-maker, marking its third drone investment to date.&#xa0;</p><p>What's does Intel see in unmanned aerial vehicles&#xa0;?</p><p>The flying machines are packed with the kinds of sophisticated chips that Intel sells and the popularity of drones makes them an attractive new market for Intel to get a foothold in as its <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/intel-cuts-revenue-outlook-1426165693">traditional PC business&#xa0;continues to decline</a>.</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Processors, WiFi chips and Bluetooth chips can all be used in drones, explains Mike Hung, an analyst with research firm Gartner. Because drones are equipped with technology&#xa0;such as high-definition video cameras for recording, there's also a role for powerful graphics chips, he explained.</span></p><p>Still, while drones are a sexy market in the emerging "Internet of Things" sector, they won't drive significant growth for the tech company in the near future, nor will drones replace all of Intel's lost PC revenue, Hung noted.</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"The drone market isn't going to become as large or profitable as the PC market for another decade, if ever," Hung told Business Insider. "But it's got good proof points: it serves large networks the way Facebook is looking at it, [it &#xa0;can be used for] smart farming purposes, it monitors cell towers, and there's recreational uses like recording your kid's softball games. While the drone market isn't as sizeable as PC or smartphone, its tech can be used for a lot of other purposes."</span></p><p>According to a <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/drone-startup-venture-capital/">CB Insights report </a>conducted&#xa0;earlier in May, drones startups are in vogue: they raised a record breaking $172 million in equity financing so far this year.&#xa0;Commercial usage for drones has been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uav-or-commercial-drone-market-forecast-2015-2">enjoying speedy growth</a>, compounding more than 3 times as much as military use at 19 percent between 2015 to 2020.&#xa0;</p><p>Intel has already invested in two other drone companies, Airware and Precisionhawk.</p><p><span>In a video announcing Intel's latest $60 million investment in&#xa0;<span>Hong Kong-based&#xa0;drone and aerospace company Yuneec, Intel&#xa0;</span></span><span>CEO Brian Krzanich said&#xa0;<span>future product collaborations between the two companies will hopefully be a "gamechanger in the drone industry".</span></span></p><p>Users will soon be able to open a box containing a little drone, controller and built-in screen. They would be able to fly the unmanned aerial vehicles&#xa0;using Android smartphones, and&#xa0;laypeople&#xa0;would be able to control them within five minutes of unboxing the product.&#xa0;</p><p>But while Intel is opening its wallet to show its love for&#xa0;drones, Gartner's Hung noted that the company is unlikely to ever build and sell its own drone. Intel doesn't like to sell "end-products" he noted, and will be content providing the innards for the new machines.&#xa0;</p><p><span><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GgBRZ0oUZMQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-government-secret-airline-janet-2015-7">There is a secret US government airline that flies out of commercial airports </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5uYWc3djp_WwFcNEae4eW__Ya2XMybSQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '5uYWc3djp_WwFcNEae4eW__Ya2XMybSQ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Here's why Intel can't stop investing in drone companies

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5964dca2f501847d2c8b54ca-1024/gettyimages-699736758.jpg" alt="sebastian gorka" data-mce-source="Alex Wong/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="White House Deputy Assistant Sebastian Gorka during an interview."><p class="source"><span>Alex Wong/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">White House Deputy Assistant Sebastian Gorka during an interview.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>White House&#xa0;aide Sebastian Gorka appeared on MSNBC Live to talk about counterterrorism.</strong></li><li><strong>Host Ali Veshi pressed Gorka on why the administration insists on referring to terror attacks as "radical Islamic terrorism."</strong></li><li><strong>Gorka suggested that doing otherwise would be like a doctor telling a cancer patient he or she had "the flu."</strong></li></ul><p>White House national-security aide Sebastian Gorka offered an&#xa0;unusual analogy to defend <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/22/radical-islamic-terrorism-trump-said-over-and-over-but-not-in-saudi-arabia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trump's preference</a> for referring to attacks by Islamist extremists as "radical Islamic terrorism" during an interview&#xa0;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHjc2tBMhkY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">on MSNBC</a>&#xa0;Tuesday, comparing the debate over terms to medical diagnoses.</p><p>MSNBC Live co-host Ali Veshi noted during an interview with Gorka that recent terrorist attacks in the West have had "little or no material or operational" connection to ISIS and cited some who have argued such attacks won't go away even with the demise of that terrorist group.</p><p>Asked about the reasoning behind the White House tactic of referring to "radical Islamic terrorism" when describing such attacks, Gorka said it would "jettison the political correctness of the last eight years," referring to the Obama administration's avoidance of that term in such cases.</p><p>After Gorka stressed the US's emphasis on working with foreign partners against terrorism, <span>Velshi asked how using that term "helps stop the attacks in Paris or in Belgium."</span></p><p><span>"If you have, so if you, god forbid, caught cancer, and the hospital was forbidden from calling it cancer and said, 'you have the flu. Go home and hydrate and take some aspirins,' would you actually have the right treatment?" Gorka responded.</span></p><p>"No, but there's still no cure for cancer," co-host Stephanie Ruhle said.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58adacdd01fe58fe4f8b5883-958/gorka%20trump.jpg" alt="Sebastian Gorka Donald Trump" data-mce-source="Facebook / Sebastian Gorka" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump and Sebastian Gorka." data-link="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154931274531585&amp;set=a.456524416584.233281.738761584&amp;type=3&amp;theater"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154931274531585&amp;set=a.456524416584.233281.738761584&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook / Sebastian Gorka</a></span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump and Sebastian Gorka.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>"Sorry, but ... have you not heard of chemo?" Gorka replied.<p><span>"I have heard of chemo," Ruhle said, "and cancer can still kill you. So it doesn't matter what you call it."</span></p><p><span>"It doesn't matter what you call it? Really?" Gorka said. "So if I called it the flu and say, 'go home and take some aspirin,' what's going to happen to you, Stephanie?"</span></p><p><span>"There must be ... a better response to that," Velshi said. "I asked you a very straightforward question ..."</span></p><p><span>"And I gave you a very simple answer," Gorka responded. "If you misdiagnose, if you misdiagnose anything, whether it's a serious disease or a international geopolitical threat, you will never solve it. For the last eight years we had an administration that said, 'oh, it's economics. Oh, these people are disenfranchised.' No, it's not about economics. It's not about being disenfranchised. It's about people who have an ideology that is evil and has to be destroyed."</span></p><p><span>Velshi then steered the conversation back to his original question, asking how the Trump administration planned to stop "lone-wolf" attacks conducted by individuals inspired by, rather than operating with, groups like ISIS.</span></p><p><span>"There's no such thing as a lone wolf. You do know that?" Gorka answered. "That was a phrase invented by the last administration to make Americans stupid. There has never been - never been - a serious attack ... or a serious plot that was unconnected from ISIS or Al Qaeda, at least through the ideology and the TTPs - the tactics, the training, the techniques, and the procedures - that they supply through the internet. Never happened. It's bogus."</span></p><p>It's not clear how sweeping Gorka meant to be with that assertion. Other attacks that have targeted US citizens, like the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City or the 1988 bombing of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/26/world/pan-am-flight-103-fast-facts/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pan Am flight 103</a> over Scotland, were not carried out by those groups. Other analyses have found that domestic right-wing terrorism acts <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/right-wing-extremism-islamist-terrorism-donald-trump-steve-bannon-628381" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">have been more common</a> than acts of Islamist terrorism.</p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/597056215124c9a678a4ca97-800/after-mosul-islamic-state-digs-in-for-guerrilla-warfare.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO: Members of the Iraqi Army's 9th Armoured Division are photographed with an Islamic State flag, claimed after fighting with Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="FILE PHOTO:Members of the Iraqi Army's 9th Armoured Division are photographed with an Islamic State flag, claimed after fighting with Islamic State militants in western Mosul"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Members of the Iraqi army with an ISIS flag, claimed after fighting with ISIS militants in western Mosul, June 17, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Gorka promised that ISIS "will be annihilated," echoing rhetoric that senior military officials <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gen-joseph-dunford-on-the-us-annihilation-campaign-against-isis-2017-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">have used to describe the campaign</a> against the terrorist group, and said it was also necessary to work with Muslim partners to "delegitimize the ideology" in order to achieve a final victory against such groups.</span></p><p><span>The US-led coalition against ISIS has been fighting the group in Iraq and Syria since summer 2014, not long after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared ISIS' "caliphate" from a mosque in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq.</span></p><p><span>The amount of territory recaptured from the group has accelerated during the first six months of the Trump administration, Brett McGurk,&#xa0;the State Department's senior envoy to the coalition,&#xa0;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/under-trump-gains-against-isis-have-dramatically-accelerated/2017/08/04/8ad29d40-7958-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.7927ebacc613" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said this month</a>, attributing the gains to Trump's policies.</span></p><p><span>Evidence suggests that the stepped-up campaign against the group has led to a significant increase in the number of civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria - <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/president-trumps-air-war-kills-12-civilians-per-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">12 or more daily every day</a> between Trump's inauguration and July 13, according to Airwars, an independent observer group.</span></p><h2><span>Watch the full exchange below:</span></h2><div><iframe width="840" height="526" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bHjc2tBMhkY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-secret-battle-us-marines-fighting-against-isis-2017-5">This is the inside account of the secret battle US Marines have been fighting against ISIS</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/vgLj2BPG-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Sebastian Gorka made an odd analogy to defend the term 'radical Islamic terrorism'

<p>The Iraqi advance on ISIS in western Mosul has fought <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-daring-nighttime-raid-turns-to-deadly-trap-in-mosul-2017-3" target="_blank">through ambushes</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-thousands-flee-iraqs-mosul-as-battle-edges-into-old-city-2017-3" target="_blank">poor weather</a> to reach the the Old City - site of the mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraq-forces-say-near-mosul-mosque-where-is-declared-caliphate-2017-3" target="_blank">declared ISIS' "caliphate" in 2014</a> - in the weeks since operations against that part of the city began on February 19.</p><p>Throughout the operation, US-led coalition airstrikes have supported Iraqi troops on the ground.</p><p>In footage below, provided by the US <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Department, an airstrike knocks out a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device - a weapon the terror group has turned to more and more as its arsenal and space to operate shrink.</p><p>The March 7 strike was one of 12 in Iraq that day, amounting to 75 engagements in total. <a href="http://www.inherentresolve.mil/Portals/14/Documents/Strike%20Releases/2017/03March/20170308%20Strike%20Release%20Final.pdf?ver=2017-03-08-082629-073" target="_blank">Six of those strikes</a> took place near Mosul, targeting five ISIS tactical units, nine fighting positions, mortars, vehicles, an unmanned-aerial-vehicle launch site, a building, and machine-gun and sniper positions.</p><p>The airstrikes also destroyed three VBIEDs in total and two VBIED factories. The terror group has deployed numerous VBIEDs throughout the Mosul campaign, which started on the east side of the city in mid-October.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58cb4c03d349f91e008b4c58-760/screen%20shot%202017-03-14%20at%2031506%20pm.png" alt="Kia David" data-mce-source="PurpleOlive2/Twitter"><p class="source"><span>PurpleOlive2/Twitter</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>ISIS fighters have, of late, made greater use of light SUVs <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kia-iraq-afghanistan-war-2017-3" target="_blank">produced by Kia and Hyundai</a>, crudely welding armor plating to the front and sides painting them, usually to disguise their true purpose.</p><p>Iraqi commanders on the ground have said that the terror group's reliance on car bombs indicates the tide is turning.</p><p>"We are advancing toward the Old City. Their resistance is weakening," Iraqi federal police commander Gen. Khalid al-Obedi <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-iraqi-forces-close-in-on-mosul-mosque-as-residents-flee-2017-3" target="_blank">told Reuters</a> on the frontline. "They are mostly using car bombs, and that shows they are losing on the ground."</p><p><span>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-islamic-state-frees-mosul-prisoners-as-grip-on-last-major-city-slips-2017-3" target="_blank">release of ISIS-held prisoners </a>in the city also suggests it is withering on the onslaught of Iraqi forces and their coalition partners.</span></p><h2><span>'The breaking point'</span></h2><p><span>Iraqi forces' advance has been slow and violent in recent days, as they enter the cramped confines of Mosul's Old City, riven by narrow streets and alleyways. Poor conditions have also hindered air support and observation efforts.</span></p><p><span><span>"We are encountering difficulties - bad weather and streets too narrow for our military vehicles, which cannot enter," <span>Capt. Firas al-Zuwaidi, a spokesman for Iraq's elite Rapid Response Force,</span> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraq-forces-near-mosul-mosque-where-is-declared-caliphate-2017-3" target="_blank">said</a>.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>"The fighting is street by street, house by house," he said, amid the sound of mortar fire from the heart of Iraq's second-largest city.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58cf0076112f70e0018b51d7-1743" alt="ISIS Iraq tank Mosul street fighting city neighborhoods shelling" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Ari Jalal" data-mce-caption="A Iraqi rapid-response forces tank fires against ISIS militants in the Bab al-Tob area of Mosul, Iraq, March 14, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Ari Jalal</span></p><p class="caption">A Iraqi rapid-response forces tank fires against ISIS militants in the Bab al-Tob area of Mosul, Iraq, March 14, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>Some <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-thousands-flee-iraqs-mosul-as-battle-edges-into-old-city-2017-3" target="_blank">600,000 civilians</a> are thought to be still hunkered down in western Mosul, amid the house-to-house fighting, with helicopters and other aircraft strafing and bombing from above.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>More than 150,000 civilians have already fled that part of the city. And while some have started <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-mosul-families-go-against-the-tide-to-return-home-2017-3" target="_blank">to make their way back</a> to their homes, government and international aid groups on the ground to help the displaced may soon be overwhelmed.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>"The number of people is higher than expected," Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraq-forces-seize-ground-in-mosul-old-city-2017-3" target="_blank">told AFP</a>. "If the pace [of those fleeing] accelerates further, it's going to stretch us to the breaking point."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>International monitoring group <a href="https://airwars.org/news/1000th-allegation/" target="_blank">Airwars also reports</a> that hundreds of civilians in Mosul have been killed in airstrikes in the first weeks of March alone.</span></span></span></span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58cf0146112f70f2008b5209-2400" alt="Iraqi civilian casualties deaths ISIS Mosul" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani" data-mce-caption="Relatives near the bodies of civilians killed in an air strike during battle between Iraqi forces and ISIS militants, in Mosul, March 17, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani</span></p><p class="caption">Relatives near the bodies of civilians killed in an air strike during battle between Iraqi forces and ISIS militants, in Mosul, March 17, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p><span><span><span><span>Iraqi forces have reportedly been <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/fierce-battle-to-oust-isis-reducing-western-mosul-to-rubble-897934915540" target="_blank">relying more</a> on heavy ordnance in eastern Mosul to limit casualities, hundreds of which were suffered in the fight to retake eastern Mosul.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>It is, at times, difficult to tell which strikes have been launched by the US-led coalition and which were launched by Iraqi air forces. (ISIS is also deliberately firing on civilians with bullets and artillery.) But reports have said the fight to eject ISIS from Iraq's second-biggest city is "<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/fierce-battle-to-oust-isis-reducing-western-mosul-to-rubble-897934915540" target="_blank">reducing western Mosul to rubble</a>," leaving much of it "uninhabitable."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Deaths of civilians in combat areas <a href="https://airwars.org/news/1000th-allegation/" target="_blank">appear to have picked up</a> after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who promised to intensify the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58cf01fc112f7078158b4fae-2400" alt="Iraq ISIS Mosul helicopter gunship gunfire airstrike bombing" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal" data-mce-caption="An Iraqi air force helicopter fires missiles against ISIS militants during a battle in Mosul, March 17, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal</span></p><p class="caption">An Iraqi air force helicopter fires missiles against ISIS militants during a battle in Mosul, March 17, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>In Iraq, the rules of engagement previously governing airstrikes appear to have been <a href="https://airwars.org/news/1000th-allegation/" target="_blank">relaxed</a>, with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-led-airstrike-on-isis-headquarters-near-mosul-iraq-2017-2" target="_blank">more control over bombings</a> given to coalition personnel on or near the frontlines.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Some Iraqis <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-sunni-politician-warns-us-of-mounting-civilian-casualties-in-mosul-2017-3" target="_blank">have warned</a> that a high civilian toll in Mosul may erode the actual benefits of ejecting ISIS from the city, as it could make some Sunni Iraqis feel resentful toward the government of Iraq, which is a majority-Shiite country. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>ISIS' tactic of abducting civilians for use as human shields has only heightened the risk that innocent Iraqis could be killed in the fighting.</span></span></span></span></p><p>"They were human shields for the jihadists," said Khalaf, a man whose family was taken by ISIS fighters during a retreat. "A plane came. There was a strike," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-death-carts-carry-family-ripped-apart-by-mosul-campaign-2017-3" target="_blank">he told AFP</a>.</p><p>"I've lost my two brothers, my nephew, my cousins ... a whole family - 21 people," he said.</p><div><iframe src="//giphy.com/embed/3o7buaW4XbId04BFx6" width="840" height="526" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-new-travel-ban-differences-syria-iraq-refugee-ban-muslims-religion-executive-order-2017-3">Here are 5 things different about Trump's new travel ban</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="l5c282YTE6mDvkWgzOv_0HNuTfgLtnR7" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'l5c282YTE6mDvkWgzOv_0HNuTfgLtnR7',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Watch a US-led airstrike destroy part of ISIS' arsenal in the terror group's shrinking Iraqi stronghold

<p>Iraqi forces kicked off their offensive against ISIS in western Mosul on February 19, continuing the campaign against the terrorist group in Mosul - the group's last urban stronghold in Iraq - that began in mid-October.</p><p>Throughout the campaign, the US-led coalition has provided extensive support, including on-the-ground advisers and ongoing airstrikes against ISIS in Mosul and elsewhere in the country.</p><p>In the footage below, provided by the US <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Department, a US-led strike on February 26 wipes out a ISIS vehicle-borne improvised-explosive-device factory near Mosul, eliminating a source of one of ISIS' favorite weapons.</p><p>There were <a href="http://www.inherentresolve.mil/Portals/14/Documents/Strike%20Releases/2017/02February/20170227%20Strike%20Release%20Final.pdf?ver=2017-02-27-050555-557" target="_blank">10 airstrikes</a>, with a total of 80 engagements, in Iraq on February 26. Five of those strikes were in or around Mosul, targeting ISIS tactical units, fighting positions, weapons, vehicles, buildings, supplies, and a tunnel.</p><p>Those five strikes <a href="http://www.inherentresolve.mil/Portals/14/Documents/Strike%20Releases/2017/02February/20170227%20Strike%20Release%20Final.pdf?ver=2017-02-27-050555-557" target="_blank">also targeted</a> three VBIEDs and two VBIED factories.</p><p>ISIS has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-led-airstrike-on-isis-headquarters-near-mosul-iraq-2017-2" target="_blank">deployed VBIEDs with alacrity</a> throughout the Mosul campaign, relying on suicide bombers to drive them into Iraqi forces' positions and other targets. Iraqi troops, ever vigilant for suspicious approaching vehicles, have used missiles, rockets, and airstrikes to destroy or disable the vehicles before they can strike.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58bee4fdd7e1be6d008b49e5-2400" alt="Iraq Mosul ISIS fighters troops city" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic" data-mce-caption="Iraqi special-forces soldiers walk in a street in Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi special-forces soldiers walk in a street in Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Sunday marked <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraq-forces-advance-in-renewed-mosul-push-2017-3" target="_blank">a renewed push</a> by Iraqi forces advancing on western Mosul, after having been slowed for several days by bad weather.</p><p>Iraqi troops&#xa0;advanced on a compound of government buildings and the approaches of one of the five bridges connecting west and east Mosul across the Tigris River. As of Monday, they had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-backed-iraqi-forces-capture-al-hurriya-bridge-in-mosul-spokesman-says-2017-3" target="_blank">captured two</a> of the bridges.</p><p>While all five have been destroyed in the fighting, taking possession of their remains will likely facilitate the movement of Iraq personnel and supplies toward the fight and the flight of civilians away from it.</p><p>Progress continued on Tuesday, as Iraqi forces <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraqi-forces-retake-government-hq-museum-in-mosul-2017-3" target="_blank">reportedly captured</a> the main government offices in western Mosul as well as the city's museum, where ISIS militants <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraqi-forces-retake-mosul-museum-vandalised-by-is-2017-3" target="_blank">filmed themselves destroying</a> priceless artifacts in early 2015.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58bee5c8d7e1be6d008b49f1-2400" alt="Iraq security forces troops soldiers Mosul ISIS" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra" data-mce-caption="Iraqi special-forces and federal police members hide from a sniper during a battle with ISIS militants in western Mosul, Iraq, March 7, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi special-forces and federal police members hide from a sniper during a battle with ISIS militants in western Mosul, Iraq, March 7, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>"They killed tens of Daesh," Lt. Col. Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi, a spokesman for Iraq's elite Rapid Response forces, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-iraq-security-forces-take-control-of-mosuls-main-government-building-iraqi-spokesman-2017-3" target="_blank">said</a> of the retaking of the government buildings, referring to ISIS by an Arabic acronym.</p><p>The capture of the government-building complex moves Iraqi forces closer to the nearby old city center. It also takes them farther into the densely populated western half of the city.</p><p>Narrow streets and alleys in that part of Mosul will force Iraqi personnel to dismount their armored vehicles and engage ISIS fighters inside homes and tunnels the terrorist group has fortified throughout the city.</p><p>That portion of the battle is likely to be especially deadly for the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraqi-forces-retake-government-hq-museum-in-mosul-2017-3" target="_blank">700,000 or so civilians still in the city</a>. While tens of thousands have fled west Mosul, many more have stayed, hunkering down as the front line moves down their streets, through their yards, and sometimes into their homes.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58bee648d7e1be25008b4a07-2400" alt="ISIS Iraq Mosul civilian refugee" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Suhaib Salem" data-mce-caption="Displaced Iraqis flee their homes as Iraqi forces battle with ISIS militants, in western Mosul, Iraq, March 6, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Suhaib Salem</span></p><p class="caption">Displaced Iraqis flee their homes as Iraqi forces battle with ISIS militants, in western Mosul, Iraq, March 6, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p><span>"We only go upstairs to use the toilet. It's been like this for three months, since shells started falling on the area," Abu Mariam - an Iraqi man who, with his wife, three children, and an elderly neighbor, has hid from from the fighting in the basement of his spacious home in an upscale Mosul neighborhood - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-life-in-a-basement-on-mosuls-front-line-2017-3" target="_blank">told AFP</a> this week.</span></p><p><span>ISIS has compounded the horrors it exacted on the Iraqi civilians under its rule in Mosul by shelling and firing on them amid the fighting in the city. </span></p><p><span>Iraqi forces and their coalition partners are much more cautious in how they deal with civilians in the line of fire, but their strikes have also taken a deadly toll on Iraqis&#xa0;caught amid the battle.</span></p><p>According to international monitoring group Airwars, during the first week of March, hundreds of civilians were <a href="https://airwars.org/news/westmosulcivilians/" target="_blank">allegedly killed in 11 separate incidents</a> that were all blamed in part or in whole on coalition forces.</p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58bdbfc85124c9aa263c7733-800" alt="A man cries as he carries his daughter while walking from an Islamic State-controlled part of Mosul towards Iraqi special forces soldiers during a battle in Mosul.  REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="A man cries as he carries his daughter while walking from an Islamic State-controlled part of Mosul towards Iraqi special forces soldiers during a battle in Mosul"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A man cries as he carries his daughter while walking from an ISIS-controlled part of Mosul toward Iraqi special-forces soldiers during a battle in west Mosul.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Possibly the deadliest incident was on March 5, when local sources said <a href="https://airwars.org/news/westmosulcivilians/" target="_blank">as many as 130 civilians died</a> during an assault on a government compound. </span><span>Both Iraqi and coalition forces were cited for the assault, with some sources saying US Apache helicopters participated.</span></p><p><span>The coalition recently loosened some of its rules of engagement, allowing coalition advisers on the ground with Iraqi forces <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-led-airstrike-on-isis-headquarters-near-mosul-iraq-2017-2" target="_blank">to call in airstrikes directly</a>. </span></p><p><span>With several thousand ISIS fighters thought to remain in the densely populated parts of the city, the intensity of the fighting - and the need for heavy air support - is unlikely to relent in the near future.</span></p><div><iframe src="//giphy.com/embed/xUPGceOQOXa7mq5ugM" width="840" height="526" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iraqi-forces-discover-underground-isis-tunnels-mosul-2016-10">Footage reveals ISIS' secret underground tunnels near Mosul</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="liMGUyNzE6kBaBBNFH9wFDDc8iSmn5fp" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'liMGUyNzE6kBaBBNFH9wFDDc8iSmn5fp',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Watch a US-led airstrike destroy an ISIS bomb factory amid the fight for Mosul

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b04c3c01fe5823008b67b6-2400" alt="Iraq ISIS Mosul soldier troops fighters" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra" data-mce-caption="A Federal police member flashes victory sign in the liberated part of Albu Saif village south of Mosul, Iraq, February 21, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra</span></p><p class="caption">A Federal police member flashes victory sign in the liberated part of Albu Saif village south of Mosul, Iraq, February 21, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>The fight to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the clutches of ISIS is poised to enter its sixth month.</p><p>And Iraqi forces in recent days have advanced on the western half of the city, the last part of Mosul still held by the terrorist group.</p><p>A coalition of more than 60 countries, led by the US, has assisted the Iraqi government's efforts since the beginning of the Mosul campaign in October, targeting ISIS weaponry, equipment, and infrastructure across northern Iraq.</p><p>In a January 9 strike, show below in footage released by the US <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Department, an airstrike levels a building believed to be an ISIS headquarters near Mosul.</p><p>The January 9 strike was one of 11 conducted in Iraq that day. A total of <a href="http://www.inherentresolve.mil/Portals/14/Documents/Strike%20Releases/2017/01January/20170110%20Strike%20Release%20Final.pdf?ver=2017-01-13-131043-483" target="_blank">seven strikes</a> took place near Mosul, targeting ISIS tactical units, fighting positions, ISIS-held buildings weapons, tunnels, and several vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and a facility producing them.</p><p>The terrorist group has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-is-forcing-children-disabled-into-suicide-cars-us-general-2017-2" target="_blank">relied heavily</a> on VBIEDs through the fighting in Mosul, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-led-airstrike-on-a-vbied-facility-near-mosul-in-iraq-2016-11" target="_blank">using them with deadly effectiveness</a> in the cramped confines of the city's historic neighborhoods and narrow streets.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b04bd101fe5818378b4ab7-2400" alt="ISIS Iraq civilians refugees Mosul" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani" data-mce-caption="Displaced Iraqis flee their homes during a battle with ISIS militants, in district of Maamoun in western Mosul, Iraq, February 23, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani</span></p><p class="caption">Displaced Iraqis flee their homes during a battle with ISIS militants, in district of Maamoun in western Mosul, Iraq, February 23, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Some 750,000 civilians are believed to still be in western Mosul, and tens of thousands have already fled the city amid the fighting.</p><p>The Iraqi offensive against western Mosul started on Sunday, and government forces have since retaken several villages and desert areas near that section of the city.</p><p>On Friday, Lt. Gen. Sami al-Aridhi, of the country's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, said his forces had captured a military base and village southwest of the city and had entered a residential neighborhood in western Mosul for the first time since the campaign started in October.</p><p><span>"We have attacked and fully control Ghazlani base, we have also taken Tal al-Rayyan... and we're attacking Al-Maamun neighbourhood," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-iraq-forces-enter-first-west-mosul-neighbourhood-commander-2017-2" target="_blank">he told AFP</a>.</span></p><p><span>Iraqi forces have also reportedly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-the-latest-iraqi-troops-enter-first-west-mosul-neighborhood-2017-2" target="_blank">taken full control</a> of the city's airport, which is just south of the western half of Mosul.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b04ae5549057bc008b6897-2400" alt="Iraq ISIS missiles Mosul weapons bombs" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani" data-mce-caption="Iraqi army launch a rocket toward ISIS positions during a battle with IS militants near Ghozlani military complex, south of Mosul, Iraq, February 23, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi army launch a rocket toward ISIS positions during a battle with IS militants near Ghozlani military complex, south of Mosul, Iraq, February 23, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Quentin Sommerville, the BBC's Middle East correspondent, was with Iraq's Emergency Response Division as it pushed into western Mosul amid thick plumes of dark smoke from fires set by ISIS militants trying to obscure their movements. </span></p><p><span>Photos he posted showed <a href="https://twitter.com/sommervillebbc/status/835082214748585985" target="_blank">laundry still drying</a> outside homes in the city.</span></p><p><span>"Now the real fighting starts," Col. Amer Sabar Gyad, of the ERD's 1st brigade, <a href="https://twitter.com/sommervillebbc/status/835069629659770880" target="_blank">told Sommerville</a> as Iraqi forces entered the city.</span></p><p>While ISIS is expected to put up fierce resistance in the tight confines of western Mosul's ancient neighborhoods, <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/02/23/iraqi-army-ahead-of-schedule-in-fight-for-west-mosul-u-s-officials-say/" target="_blank">coalition commanders</a> have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-us-commander-mosul-and-raqqa-should-be-retaken-in-6-months-2017-2" target="_blank">expressed optimism</a> about how the fighting in the city will progress.</p><p>But even if the city is quickly retaken, the fight with ISIS and its remnants will drag on elsewhere.</p><p>Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said he plans to develop a plan to address violent extremism "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-dunford-counter-is-plan-will-have-global-scope-2017-2" target="_blank">in the broadest sense</a>" and speed up the fight against not only ISIS in Iraq and Syria but other groups, like Al Qaeda, as well.</p><p>In other places in Iraq, the specter of ISIS has reappeared, as members of the group <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/away-from-iraqs-front-lines-the-islamic-state-is-creeping-back-in/2017/02/22/8abd8b70-d161-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3_story.html" target="_blank">seep back into areas</a> it once controlled, abetted by weak institutions and corrupt security forces.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b04b5c01fe58bd3c8b606a-2400" alt="Iraq ISIS soldiers troops flag Mosul" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra" data-mce-caption="Iraqi security forces members pose with a seized ISIS flag after driving its militants out of Mosul's airport, southwest Mosul, Iraq, February 23, 2017."><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi security forces members pose with a seized ISIS flag after driving its militants out of Mosul's airport, southwest Mosul, Iraq, February 23, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Clandestine ISIS members are not the only lingering threat. During the bombing campaign of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, US aircraft deployed <a href="http://www.alternet.org/world/us-killing-innocent-civilians-iraq#.WK-GMtAyeUE.twitter" target="_blank">at least 116,000 kilograms</a> of radioactive depleted-uranium ammunition. Logs released in 2013 showed that DU ammunition was used against cars, trucks, and many buildings.</p><p>Since then, cancer-related illness has been common in the country, particularly in Fallujah, where the rate of children born with birth defects and the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html" target="_blank">incidence of</a> radiation-related illness <a href="http://www.alternet.org/world/us-killing-innocent-civilians-iraq#.WK-GMtAyeUE.twitter" target="_blank">was much higher</a> than in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after 1945.</p><p>"<span>The depleted uranium left by the US bombing campaign has turned Iraq into a cancer-infested country," artist <a href="http://www.alternet.org/world/us-killing-innocent-civilians-iraq#.WK-GMtAyeUE.twitter" target="_blank">Nuha al-Radi wrote</a> before she died of leukemia.</span></p><p><span>And <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/02/14/the-united-states-used-depleted-uranium-in-syria/" target="_blank">according to a report</a> this month by Airwars and Foreign Policy, the US military used depleted-uranium ammunition in airstrikes on oil trucks in ISIS-controlled areas in Syria in late 2015.</span></p><div><iframe src="//giphy.com/embed/26BGJYg4Ic9DfP94I" width="840" height="526" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Exclusive: <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCNews">@BBCNews</a> first inside west Mosul as Iraqi forces breach IS defences <a href="https://t.co/D2Y2REkihl">pic.twitter.com/D2Y2REkihl</a></p>- Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/sommervillebbc/status/835093420863520768">February 24, 2017</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vetting-process-refugees-enter-us-syria-iraq-executive-order-ban-libya-sudan-2017-1">Here's the 20-step vetting process refugees must follow to enter the US</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="85bTliOTE6PEStnPOWCubLqNpvHjIvIg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '85bTliOTE6PEStnPOWCubLqNpvHjIvIg',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Watch a US-led airstrike destroy an ISIS headquarters building near the group's urban stronghold in Iraq

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/596674d80976db34008b4c5c-756/in-syrias-raqqa-corpses-left-to-rot-in-the-streets.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO: A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks at a smoke after an coalition airstrike in Raqqa, Syria June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="FILE PHOTO: A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks at a smoke after an coalition airstrike in Raqqa" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks on after an coalition airstrike in Raqqa, June 16, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>US-led coalition airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/record-levels-of-us-led-bombing-campaign-against-isis-in-august-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hit record levels in August</a>, dropping 5,075 bombs during close-air-support, escort, or interdiction operations.</p><p>That was the highest monthly total recorded during Operation Inherent Resolve, the three-year campaign against ISIS.</p><p>The amount of bombs dropped in each of the first eight months of 2017 exceeded the total of any other month during the campaign.</p><p>The 32,801 weapons deployed by coalition aircraft through August 2017 is more than the 30,743 dropped all last year, which was the previous annual high for Operation Inherent Resolve.</p><p>The sustained uptick in bombing during the first months of President Donald Trump's administration seems to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-airstrike-total-against-isis-in-iraq-and-syria-2017-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fulfill his campaign promise</a> to "bomb the s--- out of" ISIS. But the increase in bombings is also likely driven by intense operations in Mosul and Raqqa, ISIS' last major urban strongholds in Iraq and Syria, respectively.</p><p>Close-quarters fighting against determined ISIS militants in reinforced positions often necessitates close air support from Iraqi and coalition aircraft. (Not all aircraft active over Iraq and Syria are under US control, so the total number of weapons used <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/record-levels-of-us-led-bombing-campaign-against-isis-in-august-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">is likely higher</a>.)</p><p>Calls for airstrikes "would come from forces on the ground that an enemy's been identified, say, in this house," US Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Robert Sofge, director of the Combined Joint Operations Center in Baghdad, told Business Insider earlier this month. CJOC, as it's called, liaises with Iraqi security forces and government officials and is one of two strike cells in Iraq that manage such engagements, Sofge said.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b72ab7bde46231008b47df-2400/rts10xg7.jpg" alt="Iraq Mosul ISIS explosion bombing airstrike" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani" data-mce-caption="Smoke rises after an airstrike during the battle against ISIS militants in the district of al-Mamoun in Mosul, Iraq, March 1, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani</span></p><p class="caption">Smoke rises after an airstrike during the battle against ISIS militants in the district of al-Mamoun in Mosul, March 1, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><p>"The enemy's been in a house, and that enemy's firing from this structure," Sofge said, describing a potential strike scenario. "So the first thing we do in a strike like that, we become aware of it, and we know where it is with great precision, 10-digit grids, down to the meter."</p><p>Coalition personnel and their local partners have a database of "category-one structures" that they will avoid targeting because they have infrastructural or historic value, including religious centers or hospitals. ISIS fighters are known to make use of those structures for that reason, Sofge said.</p><p>"If it's not that, it's still a [category two] structure that we would have to go through a rigorous process to say, 'Hey, this structure can be removed from its inherent protected status because of what's going there on now. There's fighters in there shooting at the Iraqi security forces.' So first we establish that we can go engage with this thing," Sofge told Business Insider.</p><p>"Then we apply a some fairly strict criteria of positive identification: How do we know who that is and what they're doing, and we have multiple intelligence requirements - it can't just be one thing; we have multiple indications that that is in fact what's going on from that place," he said, adding:</p><blockquote>"And then we have a legal review that says that engaging this target comports with the laws of armed conflict and that engaging in these circumstances is permissible according to those laws, and once we've established all of those things we go to the government of Iraq and ask them for permission to strike that building, and they'll say yes or no, and they do say both, depending on the structure. They do a pretty thorough review themselves."</blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59cd596b351ccf0b158b5763-2400/ap17215617788829.jpg" alt="Iraq special forces ISIS Mosul surveillance" data-mce-source="(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)" data-mce-caption="Iraqi special forces Lt. Col. Salam Hussein, center, and his team watch ISIS positions using a surveillance camera near the frontline in the Old City of Mosul, July 5, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi special forces Lt. Col. Salam Hussein, center, and his team watch ISIS positions using a surveillance camera near the frontline in the Old City of Mosul, July 5, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>Sofge said coalition personnel will then, "within the bounds of proportionality," do engineering analysis to see what will be damaged in a strike and what effect it would have on nearby structures. That's followed by the weapon-selection process.</p><p>"We have an array of weapons available in support of the Iraqi security forces," he said. "We'll choose from among those and then use them in order to make sure that we do enough damage to kill the target and kill what it is that's attracted the Iraqi Security Forces' attention."</p><p>Sofge, who stressed coalition forces' efforts to avoid civilian casualties, said the actual process likely takes less time to complete than it does to describe, in part because of the experience they have doing it and because parts of it happen concurrently.</p><p>The US-led coalition's air campaign against ISIS has attracted intense scrutiny for the number of civilian casualties it is believed to have caused.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58cf01fc112f7078158b4fae-2400/rtx31gy9.jpg" alt="Iraq ISIS Mosul helicopter gunship gunfire airstrike bombing" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal" data-mce-caption="An Iraqi air force helicopter fires missiles against ISIS militants during a battle in Mosul, March 17, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal</span></p><p class="caption">An Iraqi air force helicopter fires missiles against ISIS militants during a battle in Mosul, March 17, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>According to Airwars, a UK-based independent monitoring group, between Trump's inauguration and mid-July, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/president-trumps-air-war-kills-12-civilians-per-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 2,200 civilians</a> appeared to have been killed in coalition airstrikes - almost as many as the 2,300 likely killed by coalition strikes under Obama.</p><p>That works out to 80 civilian casualties a month under 80 and 360 a month during the Trump administration.</p><p>Civilian deaths under Trump <a href="https://airwars.org/data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">peaked in March</a>, with nearly 700 confirmed or likely casualties. They have declined since June and July, when fighting in Mosul wrapped up.</p><p>Concerns about the air campaign were also piqued by reports the coalition had loosened its rules of engagement, allowing US and other coalition personnel on the ground to move closer to the front line and call in strikes and artillery fire directly, rather than going "through a whole bureaucracy and through Baghdad," one embedded US adviser <a href="https://apnews.com/f084b4f094f440058e6b58318a67adce" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told the Associated Press</a> at the time.</p><p>A coalition spokesman told the AP the rules of engagement had been "<a href="https://apnews.com/f084b4f094f440058e6b58318a67adce" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">adjusted</a>" in December, "empowering" more coalition forces "to call in airstrikes without going through a strike cell."</p><p>The Pentagon <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-rules-engagement-mosul-2017-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contested that report</a>, saying in March that overarching guidelines about such strikes had not changed, even as US personnel were being embedded at lower levels within Iraqi Security Forces units and appeared to be closer to direct combat.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5964625c5124c90767a6f098-800/amnesty-says-iraq-and-allies-violated-international-law-in-mosul-battle.jpg" alt="A member of the Federal Police walks in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq July 8, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="A member of the Federal Police walks in the Old City of Mosul" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A member of the Iraq Federal Police in the Old City of Mosul, July 8, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Asked if the process to carry out strikes had changed during the fighting in Mosul, Sofge said "not appreciably," adding that the process did see "refinements" regarding Iraqi permission for airstrikes.</p><p>"Some of the processes tend to be centralized, and in effort to decentralize them while still retaining the integrity of an Iraqi permission [it] was tweaked by the Iraqi government, not by the strike cells, as to who's the Iraqi giving you the thumbs-up that the government has given permission," Sofge told Business Insider.</p><p>"I know in some cases [it] was lowered a level in an effort to streamline the process so it was more effective to the fighters on the ground," he added, "but there was no change from a coalition perspective in the process - only who was the person saying 'yes' to the strike on the Iraqi side."</p><p>Such an adjustment may have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-rules-engagement-mosul-2017-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">given Iraqi commanders</a> on the front line more say in when and where strikes took place.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59a6dd825124c90564f48aa1-800/iraqi-forces-begin-house-by-house-fight-for-last-islamic-state-holdout-at-tal-afar-2017-8.jpg" alt="Members of Iraqi army are seen during the war between Iraqi army and Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) against the Islamic State militants in al-Ayadiya, northwest of Tal Afar, Iraq August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Members of Iraqi army are seen during the war between Iraqi army and Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) against the Islamic State militants in al-Ayadiya, northwest of Tal Afar" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi soldiers during fighting between the Iraqi army and Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces against ISIS militants in al-Ayadiya, northwest of Tal Afar, Iraq, August 28, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><p>The Iraqi government declared the liberation of Mosul in early July, though cleaning up munitions left there by the fighting could take <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iraqi-police-parade-isis-suicide-car-bombs-in-mosul-2017-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a decade or more</a>.</p><p>ISIS fighters remain in some pockets of Iraq, mostly in the north-central part of the country and in the far western desert.</p><p>Iraqi forces, backed by the coalition, have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-led-coalition-fighting-isis-in-hawija-in-iraq-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">launched assaults</a> on those positions in recent days.</p><p>In Syria, the months-long fight in Raqqa has gained ground, according to US Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a coalition spokesman.</p><p>More than <a href="https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/913434846285967361" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">75% of the city</a> is now cleared of ISIS fighters, he said on Thursday, <a href="https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/913434777247715328" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">adding</a> that Syrian Democratic Forces, a mainly Kurdish force partnering with the coalition, "have made clear progress and we are seeing ISIS begin to lose its grip on their self-declared capital in Raqqa."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-territories-war-afghanistan-controlled-support-taliban-and-isis-2017-9">Here are the territories of Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban and ISIS</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/3qozNdrt-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "airwars" and got 12 results

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Watch a US-led airstrike destroy part of ISIS' arsenal in the terror group's shrinking Iraqi stronghold

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Watch a US-led airstrike destroy an ISIS headquarters building near the group's urban stronghold in Iraq

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