NUMBERS 25
Is the number of people killed by two bombs, claimed by Islamic State on Saturday, as fighting intensified in the northern city of Mosul, where government forces are trying to rout the jihadists from their last major stronghold in the country. The blasts, including one suicide attack, tore through a busy market in the Sinak neighbourhood, police said. A pro-Islamic State news agency said the assailants had targeted Shiite Muslims, whom they regard as apostates. Islamic State has continued to launch attacks in the heavily fortified capital, even after losing most of the northern and western territory it seized in 2014.The recapture of Mosul would probably spell the end for Islamic State's self-styled caliphate, but the militants would still be capable of fighting a guerrilla-style insurgency in Iraq, and plotting or inspiring attacks on the West.
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