As East Mosul Comes Back To Life, West Mosul Remains In Ruins
Three months after ISIS was pushed out of Mosul, the eastern half of the Iraqi city is bustling and growing. But the badly damaged western half is in ruins, and its residents are angry and resentful.
Nine months after Iraqi forces drove ISIS from eastern Mosul, the east side's main street has come back to life. Wedding convoys decorated with ribbons and flowers honk their horns. Female drivers pull up in front of pastry shops and stalls piled high with fresh fruit.
Young men cruise by with car stereos tuned to upbeat music instead of ISIS radio and lectures on Islam. Signs advertise new pool halls and shisha lounges.
Those were all banned by ISIS during its three-year hold on the city, which the group considered its capital. In its final weeks, even food was unavailable.
ISIS put up much less of a fight here than it did across the Tigris River in west Mosul and damage in the east was
