Seated in a metal chair, with his skinny legs barely reaching the floor and his voice almost a whisper, “Ali,” 14, pushed up his shirt sleeves. The thin scars near one elbow, he said, were from electric shocks.

One of the Islamic State’s chief executioners – who beheaded more than 100 people with a long ceremonial sword – was shot to death during an ambush in Iraq, according to published reports. Abu Sayyaf, infamous for his beefy physique and pitch-black clothing that covered him from head to toe, was gunned down Sunday by several shooters who rode up to him in a car near Mosul, ARA News reported .

Auto Da Fe reflects on global displacement and was announced as the winner of the prestigious Artes Mundi Prize at a ceremony in Cardiff. Judges lauded winning artist John Akomfrah for “dealing with issues of migration, racism and religious persecution” in a time when they said it was “more important than ever”.

Iraqi forces soldiers wait to begin training at Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 22, 2017. The soldiers were learning from coalition personnel how to search personnel and vehicles for improvised explosive devices.

Iraqi forces soldiers wait to begin training at Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 22, 2017. The soldiers were learning from coalition personnel how to search personnel and vehicles for improvised explosive devices.

For the first time in over two years, flocks of white and grey pigeons can be seen circling Mosul’s rooftops. Among the many rules imposed by the Islamic State group when it seized the northern Iraqi city was a ban on breeding or flying the birds, which many Iraqis keep as pets or raise for food.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on January 23, 2017, on page 9.

Jaipur, Jan 20 – The Islamic State may be on the backfoot but is still entrenched in some of its strongholds like Mosul, leading to the worrying prospect if the terror outfit is be the new normal for the Middle East since the grievances that led to its rise have not been dealt with, warn area experts. While most of the regions of the world were improving, the Middle East, which has seen a number of major disruptions in the last few years, was not one of them, said British expert on the Middle East, Emma Sky in a session A World of Disruptions on the second day of the Jaipur Literature Festival-2017 on Friday.

“There is no power. No water, People are drinking from the wells here. This water is unsafe.

Iraq’s special forces troops advance during a battle against Islamic State militants in the eastern side of Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2017. Iraqi forces battling so-called Islamic State fighters this week made a grim discovery in a Mosul neighborhood, confirming reports from 2014 that the group had leveled the shrine that is said to have housed the tomb of the prophet Jonah, a key figure in the Judaic, Christian and Islamic religions.

Civilians congratulate Lt. Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, second from right, Iraqi ground forces commander as security forces patrol in the eastern side of Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2017.

The United Nations says the massive Iraqi military operation to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group has made more than 148,000 people homeless. The U.N. said in a statement released on Monday night that nearly 12,500 people were forced to flee their homes just over the past week.

A senior Iraqi commander says fierce clashes between special forces and Islamic State militants are taking place in two neighborhoods in eastern Mosul. The head of Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces, Gen.