Urban warfare in the middle East: the battle of Mosul and the operations in Syria

A change in modern warfare concerns the battlefield and the increasing urbanisation of conflicts. The article analyses the reason and consequences of conflict urbanisation comparing recent experiences, the American experience in the Battle of Mosul and the Russian experience in Syria. Through this comparative study, the essay's goal is to emphasize the centrality of the concept of battle and attrition in modern warfare and to extrapolate some lessons learned in order to identify both elements of continuity and novelty in modern urban contexts. The conclusions highlight similarities of the two approaches, difficulties, and trends in current scenarios.