assad. but meanwhile another protagonist appeared in the middle eastern theater. on june the twelfth two thousand and fourteen islamic state forces took control of iraq's second city mosul a few days later in syria fell into jihad is towns and became the capital of the self-styled islamic caliphate. protests around the advances made by ass and extremist sunni terrorist movement that sees the shia as one of its principal enemies radically change their stakes while continuing to defend the damascus regime the islamic republic was now fighting for its survival as much in syria as in iraq. but the steel. of the shoes your friendship with iraq is precious to us. naturally iraq's security