Above, boisterous poetry reading with open mic at Qantara cultural cafe in east Mosul Nov. 30, one of many activities banned under Islamic State that are coming back to life in the city. Below right, Hussein Abbas Ahmed, a teacher, outside remains of his home in “old city” in west Mosul, large swaths of which were destroyed during the fight against IS, including during indiscriminate U.S.-bombing raids.
By Curt Johnson
December 13, 2018