Mosul City fell but the fight against Islamic State is far from over. The Iraqi government is facing a series of challenges in their military advances towards the terrorist group and sectarian tensions are just one of them.

On 10 July, Iraqi PM al-Abadi visited the outskirts of Mosul and declared victory over the Islamic State (IS). Despite the proclamation, the war on IS in Iraq is hardly over. There are large Sunni areas still under IS control, including the districts of Tal Afar and Hawija, desert areas along the Syrian border in the north and parts of al-Anbar. Thus, the Iraqi government is still facing major security threats. The course of upcoming military operations will be influenced not only by constrained sectarian relations, but also by a lack of manpower and by existing disputes within Iraq and on the regional level.