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Mosul: A fate worse than Daesh?By Daniel BrettSpecial to Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 16 November 2016As an array of forces descend on Mosul in the fight to defeat ISIS, attention is starting to turn to the post-conflict scenario in this place - one of Iraq’s biggest and most strategically important cities.Several competing interests are at play in the battle for the city, where Abubakr al-Baghdadi declared himself Caliph in June 2014. Their alliances are temporary and liberation of the residents is not their first priority. This is a battle for the future of Iraq and the wider Middle East.Shiite terrorists mobilisedShiite terrorists mobilisedThe Shiite dominated Iraqi government needs to take control of Mosul in order to rehabilitate itself as capable of exerting national authority. This will require a change of mind-set from the one that prevailed before ISIS took control, but there are signs that in the heat of war the attitudes have hardened.The Shiite militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are heading into Mosul flying the banners of the Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Badr Organization, the largest militia groups. Although there are Sunni and Christian militias within the PMF, most answer directly to Tehran and several groups are considered close to Iraq’s Marjaiyah, the Shiite religious leadership. Checkpoints have been set up with pictures of Ayatollah Khomeini, the late Iranian Supreme Leader who led the Iranian Islamic revolution, indicating the highly ideological nature of their intervention.More At: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2016/11/16/Mosul-A-fate-worse-than-Daesh-.html
