UN Says Mosul Cleanup Could Cost $50 Million

UN officials said that a program to remove mines, explosives and booby traps left by Islamic State forces in Mosul could cost $50 million. The UN Mine Action Service had originally estimated costs for the whole country of Iraq at $50 million but has since doubled the estimate. Three months ago, Iraqi government troops launched an offensive to drive Islamic State out of Mosul. They have succeeded in doing so in the eastern half of the city, home to more than a million people. But they expect heavy fighting as they try to retake the western half of the city, home to about 700,000 people. Retaking Mosul in Iraq would mark a strategic defeat for Islamic State which took over the city in 2014.