battle for mosul
At the end of October 2016, one of the largest ground operations in modern history began — The Battle for Mosul. In June 2014, the world was shocked by the news that the so-called Islamic State terrorist organization had taken over the control of Iraq’s second-largest city.
On June 29, 2014, Ali Bakr Al Baghdadi, the organization’s leader, declared Caliphate at the Al Nouri Mosque in the old Mosul. In 2016, Iraqi special forces, a US-led coalition and Kurdish troops joined forces to liberate the city and surrounding territories. The operation lasted from October 2016 to July 2017; more than 1.5 million people fled the city; further, the conflict claimed about 11,000 lives. The liberation of Mosul meant the disintegration of the Islamic State.
I photographed the battles for the city of Mosul thanks to a team of volunteer paramedics. From its beginning to the very end.
