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Video of 'Liberated Areas' Shows IS Fighters at Mosul Dam

The reported takeover of Mosul Dam, the largest in Iraq, by the Islamic State in early August led to widespread concerns about the risks to the structure and the possibility of flooding. An Iraqi hydraulic engineer was quoted by the Wall Street Journal on August 11 saying the dam was “a ticking time bomb”. This footage carries Islamic State fonting and appears to show IS fighters at the dam.

Even without the intervention of the Islamic State, the dam was judged to be “the most dangerous in the world” in a 2006 report by US Army engineers, who cited structural vulnerabilities. A collapse, according to the 2006 report, would flood Mosul and Baghdad, putting thousands of lives at risk. Credit: Islamic State