Islamic State (IS) militants in Mosul have been marking the first anniversary of their capture of Iraq’s second city.
Images have emerged of the group’s black banners flying from the top of every lamp post in one main street.
Locals have also reportedly been forced to participate by putting posters and decorations on important buildings.
The fall of Mosul came as a shock to many and prompted the jihadist
group to launch an offensive that saw it seize swathes of Iraq.
Despite facing 10 months of air strikes by a US-led international
coalition and attacks on the ground by Iraqi government forces, IS has
maintained its grip on the territory and been free to impose its extreme
interpretation of Islamic law.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi satellite channel al-Sumariyah TV cited a local
official in Mosul as saying that IS was expected to hold a “victory”
celebration at the former five-star Nineveh Hotel, which has been taken
over by the group.
There were unconfirmed reports that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
would make an appearance or issue a recorded message to mark the
occasion, al-Sumariyah added.
Sources in Mosul said that IS militants were also undergoing training
in the streets on Tuesday in preparation for a government offensive.
Mosul had been expected to become the focus of a lengthy campaign
after the government recaptured the northern city of Tikrit in early
April.
But US officials said the fall of the western city of Ramadi to IS
last month meant it was likely to be delayed, possibly until 2016, the
New York Times reported.
The Mosul operation depends on the success of US efforts to retrain
the Iraqi army, whose soldiers fled Ramadi despite vastly outnumbering
the IS militants attacking.
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