Before and After Satellite Images
of Mosul Reveal the Devastation After
the Islamic State Was Forced Out

After a nearly nine-month campaign to wrest Mosul, once Iraq’s second-largest city, from Islamic State control, images captured by DigitalGlobe reveal that vital parts of the city are now in ruins.

The Mosul Hotel, in the top left of the image, and a series of hospital facilities along the banks of the Tigris River were destroyed. Much of the area — from the buildings to the streets and highways — appears to have been leveled.

Entire neighborhoods were flattened as the battle wore on in western Mosul. Major intersections and roundabouts in this part of the Old City appear to have been scrubbed away.

The Al Nuri Grand Mosque, which dominated the skyline of the Old City for nearly eight centuries, was reduced to a pile of rubble on June 21. It was a symbol of the city’s cultural heritage and was known for a distinctive leaning minaret.

Much of the neighborhood on the western side of the Fifth Bridge, which connects the eastern and western parts of the city, was leveled. In contrast, the more affluent residents on the eastern side of the bridge were seen as less loyal to the Islamic State and suffered relatively little destruction.

Sections of the Old Bridge are missing.