The World

Striking Images of ISIS’s Offensive and Iraq’s Most Recent Conflict

By

A new wave of violence has gripped Iraq after a coalition of armed insurgents called ISIS, also known as Islamic State, took control of large swathes of the country’s Sunni provinces. ISIS, a polo-clad al-Qaida offshoot and self-proclaimed caliphate with a gift shop, have seized a dam, imposed Sharia law, and killed at least 500 members of Iraq’s Yazidi ethnic minority, prompting tens of thousands of Yazidis to flee for their lives into the nearby Sinjar Mountains. A U.S.-launched operation to break the siege with airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops appears to have been successful, but the threat from ISIS still remains.

Below are some of the most powerful images from the recent round of conflicts in Iraq.

Members of Kurdish security during clashes with ISIS militants in the village of Basheer, south of the city of Kirkuk, June 29, 2014.
Members of Kurdish security forces clash with ISIS militants in the village of Basheer, south of Kirkuk, Iraq, on June 29, 2014.

Photo by Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters
A militant Islamist fighter takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province.
A militant Islamist fighter takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria’s northern Raqqa province on June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic “caliphate” after the group captured territory in neighboring Iraq.

Photo by Reuters
Yazidis trapped in the Sinjar mountains as they tried to escape from ISIS militants, are rescued by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Peoples Protection Unit (YPG) in Mosul, Iraq on August 9, 2014.
Yazidis are rescued by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and People’s Protection Unit in Mosul, Iraq, on Aug. 9, 2014.

Photo by Emrah Yorulmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Kurdish military volunteers amass near the frontline on the outskirts of the town of Makhmor, 35 miles south of Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI), on August 9, 2014.
Kurdish military volunteers amass near the front line near Makhmur, Iraq, 35 miles south of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq on Aug. 9, 2014.

Photo by Sebastian Meyer/Washington Post/Getty Images
A member of Peshmerga forces in action during the clashes with ISIS militants on August 10, 2014 in Mosul, Iraq.
A member of Peshmerga forces in action during the clashes with ISIS militants on Aug. 10, 2014 in Mosul, Iraq.

Photo by Ahmet Izgi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Shiite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against ISIS forces, participate in military-style training in Najaf, June 23, 2014.
Shiite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against ISIS forces, participate in military-style training in Najaf, Iraq, on June 23, 2014.

Photo by Ahmad Mousa/Reuters
Shi'ite worshippers attend Friday prayers in Kufa mosque near Najaf, south of Baghdad, June 27, 2014.
Shiite worshippers attend Friday prayers at the Kufa Mosque near Najaf, Iraq, on June 27, 2014.

Photo by Ahmad Mousa/Reuters
ISIS fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014.
ISIS fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province in Syria, on June 30, 2014.

Photo by Reuters
A member of Syrian People's Protection Units (YPG) near Mosul, Iraq on August 6, 2014.
A member of a People’s Protection Unit near Mosul, Iraq, on Aug. 6, 2014. 

Photo by Emrah Yorulmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Yazidis arrive in the city of Haseki, Syria, on August 10, 2014.
Yazidis arrive in Haseki, Syria, on Aug. 10, 2014.

Photo by Feriq Ferec/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Displaced Yazidi people walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate August 10, 2014.
Displaced Yazidi people walk toward the Syrian border on the outskirts of the Sinjar Mountains on Aug. 10, 2014.

Photo by Rodi Said/Reuters
Displaced Yazidi people ride a truck as they make their way towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate August 10, 2014.
Displaced Yazidi people ride a truck as they make their way toward the Syrian border on Aug. 10, 2014.

Photo by Rodi Said/Reuters
Iraqi security forces arrest suspected ISIS militants during a raid and weapons search operation in Hawija April 24, 2014.
Iraqi security forces arrest suspected ISIS militants during a raid and weapons search operation in Hawija, Iraq, on April 24, 2014.

Photo by Yahya Ahmad/Reuters
Iraqi security forces personnel take part in clashes with ISIS forces in Babel province south of Baghdad, April 2, 2014.
Iraqi security forces take part in clashes with ISIS forces in Babel province south of Baghdad on April 2, 2014.

Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters
Thousands of Yazidi and Christian people flee Hamdaniyah town of Mosul to Erbil, on August 6, 2014.
Thousands of Yazidi and Christian people flee Hamdaniya, Iraq, to Erbil, Iraq, on Aug. 6, 2014.

Photo by Mustafa Kerim/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A family, who fled from the violence in Mosul, sits inside a tent at a camp on the outskirts of Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, June 12, 2014.
A family that fled from the violence in Mosul, Iraq, sits inside a tent at a camp on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq, on June 12, 2014.

Photo by Reuters
Thousands of Iraqis flee from Sinjar, near the city of Mosul, to Erbil and Dohuk, after armed ISIS groups seized the town early on August 4, 2014.
Thousands of Iraqis flee from Sinjar, Iraq, after armed ISIS groups seized the town early on Aug. 4, 2014.

Photo by Emrah Yorulmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images