Golden Division: How An Elite Team Of Soldiers Led The Mosul Offensive - Facing ISIS

They are called the Golden Division, respected and deeply feared. This unit is an elite group of Iraqi soldiers who have the lead role in the Mosul offensive - an extremely nasty and bloody story. The role of the Golden Division is to lead the battle to free the city of Mosul from ISIS. The Golden Division was formed and trained by the US to hunt terrorists—and in Mosul they have been thrown into brutal urban combat; facing tough conditions for survival. 

''Kill or be killed'' seems to be the rule of existence.

They were formed into a battalion called the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Force (ICTF). It was merged with a US-trained light infantry unit to form the backbone of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF), which over time would expand to its current size of three brigades. 

"But there is another story being pushed in Iraq, by the Shiite militia and their allies, who claim they’re the ones who own the future of the country. In the national emergency that followed Mosul’s fall in the summer of 2014, the militia rose up to help stop ISIS’s advance and have played a key role in battles across the country. Though their involvement in Mosul has been limited, they are keen to paint themselves as the heroes of the battle there, and they are backed by a powerful propaganda machine." 

Mike Giglio and Warzer Jaff accompanied them to the front lines for some of the decisive moments of the seven-month offensive. This is the story of their fight against ISIS.