Rasha Al Aqeedi is a researcher at Al Mesbar Studies and Research Center in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. A native in Mosul, Iraq, she worked in various public sector posts between 2005–2011. Her research focuses on Islamist groups, radical ideology, identity politics, and more recently, the socio-political dynamics that led to Mosul’s fall to the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, in 2014. Rasha regularly contributes to Inside Iraqi Politics, UAE’s The National, and The American Interest.