From a doctor in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, currently held by the Islamic State:
The issue of doctors leaving the city is almost impossible now or you risk everything—your life, your family, everything. I swear that I, and all those in Mosul from the medical profession, regret the hour that we became doctors.
The Wall Street Journal, “Islamic State Scrambles to Stem Exodus,” 10/7/15
It seems that many doctors, teachers, and other skilled professionals have fled areas that the Islamic State has conquered. It’s not hard to figure out why, but Islamic State is deeply concerned that it is losing the people who actually make any modern society function and is doing all can to stop them from leaving. This is another glance at the on-the-ground situation in Syria and Iraq. For a more extensive account, see “Interview with a Russian-Syrian Soldier.“
