The fall of Mosul announcement is not a new one, it has happened a few times before, but each time it has been a partial take over. One more time on July 10, 2017 the announcement has been made that Mosul has been taken over but the fight is far from over.

Sporadic clashes continued on Tuesday in Mosul, even after Iraq's prime minister declared a "total victory" over the Islamic State group in the city and at least one airstrike hit the Old City neighbourhood that was the scene of the fierce battle's final days.

https://youtu.be/lm60WXhYZAI

Tweet by U.S. Embassy Manama: RT @StateDept: Statement by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the Liberation of Mosul, #Iraq → https://t.co/Y0zNVT7gR0 https://t.co/fYcPi… - on Wed Jul 12 05:16:59

Fighting is still on

A plume of smoke rose into the air from the strike. IS mortar shells landed near Iraqi positions and heavy gunfire could be heard on the western edge of the Old City.

The developments underscore the dangers still posed by the militants after Iraqi forces announced they retook full control of Mosul, the country's second-largest city, three years after it was seized by extremists bent on building a global caliphate.(www.abcnews.com)

The fight, closely backed by airstrikes from the US-led coalition has left thousands dead, entire neighbourhoods in ruins and nearly 900,000 displaced from their homes. Of the more than 897,000 people displaced from Mosul, the UN said thousands of residents will probably not be able to return to the city because of "extensive damage caused during the conflict." (hindustantimes.com)

It was estimated that removing the explosives from Mosul and repairing the city over the next 5 years would require $50 billion dollars, while Mosul's Old City alone would cost about $1 billion USD to repair. (wikipedia.org)

How it all started

The Battle of Mosul (2016–17) was a major military campaign launched by the Iraqi Government forces with allied militias, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and international forces to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which had seized the city in June 2014. During the military intervention against ISIL, Iraqi and Peshmerga forces had already made unsuccessful attempts to retake the city 2015 and again in 2016, despite limited gains.

The battle was also the world's single largest military operation in nearly 15 years, as well as being the most brutal urban battle since World War II. (wikipedia.org)

Met with fierce fighting, the government advance into the city was slowed by elaborate defenses and by the presence of civilians, but the Iraqi Prime Minister declared "full liberation of eastern side of Mosul" on 24 January 2017. (wikipedia.org)

The Western Nineveh offensive (2017) was launched by the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the western Nineveh province of northern Iraq in late April 2017.

Even after the Prime Minister of Iraq declared "total victory" over Mosul , the war seems far from over as airstrikes, shellings and heavy clashes continue in western Europe.