For the first time in over two years, Iraqi army units have entered the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and the Islamic State’s final staging ground in the country. According to Major General Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi special forces, his troops got as far as the neighborhoods of Gogjali and Karama on Tuesday, pushing through fierce Islamic State (ISIS) resistance to retake a state television building, and breach the city limits. The closest unit to the city center is still six miles out.

“Daesh is fighting back and have set up concrete blast walls to block off the Karama neighborhood and our troops’ advance,” al-Aridi said, referring to the Arabic name for ISIS, Daesh. The push into Gogjali and Karama began with Iraqi troops firing artillery, tank and machine gun fire toward ISIS positions, supported by airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition. ISIS responded with firing guided antitank missiles, and used small arms to resist the advancing Iraqi troops.

BBC Arabic team were caught in the crossfire between #IS and #Iraqi special forces near #Mosul pic.twitter.com/2W8xxBs2Yb

— Feras Kilani (@FerasKilaniBBC) November 1, 2016

An officer with Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Force told CNN that ISIS also planted scores of mines and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs along the route to Gogjali. The officer also said as many as 20,000 civilians were trapped in Gogjali, many of whom ISIS is using as human shields. As the fight contracts into the denser areas of Mosul, fighting is expected to move into a house-to-house, street-by-street operation, and could take weeks, perhaps months, to liberate the city from ISIS control.

In a televised news conference with Iraqi forces in Qayara, a city south of Mosul, Col. John Dorrian, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, spoke of the dwindling options for ISIS. “If Daesh stand and fight, they’re going to be killed. There’s no question about that. If they run, they will either be captured or killed. They are not going to be allowed to escape,” he said.

The operation to retake Mosul from ISIS began two weeks ago. After Iraqi troops abandoned the city over two years ago, fleeing from an emboldened and emerging ISIS, the city was governed under the extreme jihadist group. The U.S. military, which is supporting the effort with special ops forces on the ground and airstrikes from the sky, estimated 4,500 to 7,500 ISIS fighters remain in and around the city. The liberating forces–led by Iraqi troops, and bolstered by Kurdish fighters, Shiite and Sunni groups–is approximately 40,000 strong.

Iraqi forces continue to advance into Mosul, signaling dangerous new stage of urban combat against Islamic State https://t.co/lwZVL6gdyw pic.twitter.com/w1jcrhgXMe

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 1, 2016

According to the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, the number of casualties in the country is at its highest since June 2014: “A total of 1,792 Iraqis were killed and another 1,358 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in October 2016,” the group’s latest report said. In September, 1,003 people were killed, and 1,159 were wounded.

As troops fighting for his government inch toward Mosul, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi expressed confidence that the effort will prove successful. “There is no way to escape, either surrender or die,” he told the state-run Iraqiya TV.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Before it entered the world vocabulary as the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” the name “Isis” was already relatively ubiquitous. Usually referring to Isis, the Ancient Egyptian goddess of nature, childbirth, healing, and magic, the word has been used for retail shops, restaurants, and even baby names. But in its current context, it has caused a lot of issues for those people who used the “Isis” name for completely peaceful reasons.

Take for example Isis Books & Gifts in Denver, Colorado. The business specializes in spiritual books and products from a variety of world religions. Last weekend, it was vandalized for the fourth time in recent months when a brick was thrown through the sign outside. Owner Karen Charboneau-Harrison explained that she didn’t exactly know the motivation of the vandal, saying:

We’re all very heartbroken (about the Paris attacks) so I don’t know if somebody walking down the street just saw our name on the sign and kind of lost it for a moment and threw a rock through it. Or if it was an ignorant person who actually thought this was a bookstore for terrorists, I don’t know.

But this isn’t just a problem for Isis Books & Gifts. There’s a California-based Isis pharmaceutical company, which is considering changing its name. There’s also an Isis Collections in New Jersey that specializes in wigs and hair pieces, and a bridal shop in California. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, there are 270 products or businesses who use the name “Isis” in the United States alone.

TV comedy “Archer” removed the name of the spy organization, ISIS or the “International Secret Intelligence Service,”  that its title character works for from the show, and even rerecorded some lines from earlier seasons to erase it completely.

Then there are all of the people (overwhelmingly women) named Isis, usually after the Ancient Egyptian goddess. Last year in the U.S. alone, there were just shy of 400 babies named Isis. One of them, Isis Anchalee, from San Francisco tweeted that Facebook recently shut down her account after it was flagged as fake or offensive.

Facebook thinks I’m a terrorist. Apparently sending them a screenshot of my passport is not good enough for them to reopen my account.

— Isis Anchalee (@isisAnchalee) November 17, 2015

With these controversies in mind, some are pushing to stop calling ISIS by the acronym, instead arguing for the term “Daesh” or “Islamic State.” The use of ISIS seems popular, however, and not about to go away anytime soon, so hopefully people realize the very important distinctions.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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