By Enes Kanli
BEIRUT (AA) – The Iraqi government’s stated intention to retake Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group — which captured the oil-rich city in mid-2014 — has yet to materialize, despite repeated promises by Baghdad to do so before year’s end.
Daesh, meanwhile, appears to have benefitted from the resentment felt by many of the country’s Sunni-Muslims as a result of sectarian-based policies espoused by the government.
Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia politician who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2014, put sectarian considerations at the heart of his policies — especially after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011.
Scores of people were killed in Iraq’s western Anbar province in 2012 after Sunni demonstrations erupted to protest perceived anti-Sunni discrimination by the al-Maliki government.
Since then, Daesh has reportedly won supporters among some of the country’s Sunni population.
– Prison breaks
At least 815 inmates, many linked to Al-Qaeda, escape from jail after militants raid Abu Gharaib and Taji prisons.
– Fall of Mosul
In June of 2014, Iraqi army leaves Mosul to Daesh, allowing terrorist group to seize heavy weapons and combat vehicles.
– Shia militias
Shortly afterward, government establishes Hashd al-Shaabi, an umbrella group of Iran-backed Shia militias, which has since been accused of committing abuses against Sunnis.
