Angelina Jolie Visits War-Torn Mosul One Year After It's Liberation From ISIS
Today.id - Angelina Jolie visited Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday to raise awareness of the dire humanitarian situation that plagues the city almost one year after its liberation from ISIS. As a special envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency, known as UNHCR, Jolie toured bombed-out streets and met with displaced families celebrating the second day of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, was liberated by Iraqi forces in July, after three years of ISIS control. The nine-month battle to retake the ancient city left an estimated 10,000 people dead and much of the metropolis destroyed. "This is the worst devastation I have seen in all my years working with UNHCR. People here have lost everything; their homes are destroyed. They are destitute," Jolie said while speaking outside the destroyed Grand al-Nuri Mosque, according to a UNHCR statement. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the creation of the caliphate during ...