Mosul, Iraq’s “second city”, is believed to have played a very important role in helping strengthen the ISIS. Abu Bakr al-Badhdadi, the leader of ISIS, declared the creation of a global caliphate from Mosul after capturing it in June 2014. It led to thousands of Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, assisted by US-led coalition warplans and military advisers, to participate in an offensive which started in October 2016.

The terrible conflict that raged on for months supposedly concluded with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s statement in early July that the ISIS had been subdued in the city. A new video (above) from Defense One illustrates the timeline of the battle for Mosul, with the help of animation and graphics. The situation on the ground, however, is certainly more complicated than it appears.

Iraqi soldiers are still said to be battling small groups of ISIS fighters all over the city. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have already escaped, which has witnessed a devastating amount of damage and suffering.