12/28/17
lslamic State was defeated. Now who will pay to rebuild Iraq?
Three years of war devastated much of northern and western Iraq. Baghdad estimates $100 billion is needed nationwide to rebuild. Local leaders in Mosul, the biggest city held by lS, say that amount is needed to rehabilitate their city alone.
Nearly every city or town in former lS territory needs repair to one degree or another. The longer it takes, the longer many of those who fled lS or the fighting remain uprooted. While 2.7 million Iraqis have returned to lands seized back from the militants, more than 3 million others cannot and they languish in camps. Worst hit is Mosul; the U.N. estimates 40,000 homes there need to be rebuilt or restored, and some 600,000 residents have been unable to return to the city, once home to around 2 million people.













