Read a summary of this teleconference.

A Situation Briefing teleconference on the ongoing effort by Iraqi and Kurdish forces to retake Mosul from ISIL control. 

Iraq’s campaign to retake Mosul from ISIL is currently underway. Liberation of the city is expected to take at least two months, if not longer. Up to 1.5 million civilians are thought to still be in Mosul, along with up to 5,000 ISIL fighters. ISIL leaders, however, have reportedly begun to flee the city. The United Nations anticipates "a displacement wave of some 200,000 people over the coming weeks, with up to one million displaced in the course of the operation in a worst-case scenario." The United States also expects ISIL to use crude chemical weapons in the fight.

What will the loss of Mosul mean for ISIL? If the city falls, what's next in the fight against the terrorist organization?

Listen to the full conversation below:

Featuring:

Dr. Jessica Ashooh, Deputy Director of the Middle East Strategy Task Force, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council

As deputy director of the Albright-Hadley Middle East Strategy Task Force, Dr. Jessica Ashooh focuses on how the United States and its allies can more comprehensively address the growing challenges of state failure and violent extremism in the Middle East and set the region on a more positive trajectory. Read more.

Dr. Renad Mansour, Academy Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House

Dr. Renad Mansour's research at Chatham House explores the situation of Iraq in transition and the dilemmas posed by state-building. Read more.

Moderated by:

Dr. Mietek P. Boduszynski, Assistant Professor of Politics, Pomona College

Dr. Mietek P. Boduszynski teaches U.S. foreign policy at Pomona College and has also practiced it as a former diplomat with the U.S. Department of State while serving at U.S. embassies in Albania, Kosovo, Japan, Egypt and Libya. Read more.