'Blessed Ban': Islamic State's name for Trump's border policy

Islamic State fighters in Mosul are celebrating US President Donald Trump's ban on Muslims entering the US, according to media reports.

According to New York Times correspondent Rukmini Callimachi, residents in Mosul said they were celebrating the "Blessed Ban" because "they succeeded in scaring the daylight out of America".

One resident also told Callimachi that this "proved" to their followers that America really does "hate" Islam.

Trump's executive order, signed on 27 January and suspended by the courts since 3 February, blocked the arrival of travellers and refugees from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.

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According to the resident in Mosul, Islamic State fighters think their terror tactics worked by frightening Donald Trump - the most powerful man in the world.

Trump's ban on passport holders from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been greeted by protests both in the United States and around the world.

ForwardKeys, a travel analysis firm has reported that since the ban was introduced, arrivals from affected countries between from 28 January and 4 February were down 80 percent, compared with the same period of 2016.

Travel bookings to the United States fell 6.5 percent in late January compared with last year.

This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.