Al-Monitor witnessed Iraqi soldiers on June 1 randomly firing shots in the air in the streets of Mosul, and stopping and harassing the local population. The inhabitants of Mosul see the Iraqi army as a Shiite occupation army from Baghdad, and some civilians welcomed the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) when they entered Mosul and removed all Iraqi army checkpoints. “The Iraqi army oppressed the people, they stole their money,” said Ali Ahmed, a driver, who was shot while fleeing Mosul. According to Ahmed, the local population in Mosul welcomed ISIS. “The people in Mosul do not like Daash (militants belonging to ISIS), or Maliki, but they now … Continue reading Wladimir van Wilgenburg