By W.G. Dunlop
Two years after they withdrew from Mosul broken and defeated, Iraqi forces have capped a dramatic turnaround by reaching the largest city they lost to the Islamic State group.
Just over two weeks into a massive offensive to retake Mosul from IS, Iraqi army and special forces personnel have reached its outskirts for the first time since 2014.
It is the culmination of a long effort to retrain the Iraqi armed forces and replace incompetent commanders that has seen them regain much of the territory lost when IS swept across the country in June 2014.
"The army is not the same army," said Staff Lieutenant General Qassem al-Maliki, the commander of the 9th Armoured Division, one of the units that has forces near Mosul.
Some Iraqi soldiers and police who fought in Mosul in 2014 are taking part in the operation to retake it now, while many others are veterans of previous battles against IS.
The US-led coalition against IS began training Iraqi forces in the wake of the initial jihadist onslaught, and has provided essential air and artillery support as well as advice to the country's troops.
Read the full story at SpaceWar