ISIS Opens Luxury Hotel for Commanders in Mosul

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) has opened the first five-star hotel in its self-declared Caliphate. The Ninawa Hotel in Mosul, a favorite among visitors on TripAdvisor, is now open to all commanders who visit the region.

ISIS captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in June 2014. During that time, the terrorists kicked out all Christians, liquidated all Christian institutions, and destroyed all non-Islamic books. Schools reopened, but with an Islamic curriculum. Everyone lives under Sharia Law.

They shut down all the hotels, but decided to reopen the Ninawa Hotel. While it is mainly used for commanders, jihadi brides are allowed to book a wedding to an ISIS terrorist.

The strict rules implemented in Mosul apply to the hotel. The Metro reports:

As for the facilities, women will be banned for swimming or playing tennis in public unless they keep every inch of flesh covered, while the hotel is likely to be patrolled by members of IS’ feared all women police brigade.

Other banned activities including drinking alcohol, dancing, smoking or gambling, and those who don’t obey risk being flogged, crucified or beheaded.

The all-female brigade is known as al-Khansa. In December, a woman claimed the gang used a bear trap called a “biter” on women’s breasts as punishment since her niquab did “not meet Sharia requirement because it was transparent.”

TripAdvisor rated the Ninawa Hotel as the best in Mosul. It only received four stars from reviewers. But now the website linked the State Department’s travel warning on the hotel’s page:

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all but essential travel to Iraq given the security situation. Travel within Iraq remains dangerous. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning dated January 19, 2012, to update information on security incidents and to remind U.S. citizens of ongoing security concerns for U.S. citizens in Iraq, including kidnapping and terrorist violence. The United States completed its withdrawal of military forces from Iraq as of December 31, 2011. The ability of the Embassy to respond to situations where U.S. citizens face difficulty, including arrests, is extremely limited.