Search:

Mosul's citizens mobilized to fight ISIS, by acting as clandestine eyes and ears for the Good Guys.

...

Relevant, from 2016

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/18/private-contractors-are-the-silent-majority-of-obamas-military-mercenaries-iraq-afghanistan/

Backstory on the contractors. From February 23rd, 2016

Behind the president’s directive to ‘accelerate’ the counter-ISIS campaign came a surge in the number of contractors assisting in the...

Temporary stand alone for maximum visibility. Well-done article on Urban Warfare and 'things not to do'.

For those with WSJ access,
...