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© Victòria Rovira Casanovas

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ISLAMIC STATE

FACING THE ISLAMIC STATE. PESHMERGA FIGHT AND CIVIL POPULATION

Kurdistan - Iraq – France. 2017-2016

Facing the Islamic State. Peshmerga fight and civil population is the outcome of a six-month photographic report in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq made over 6 months. The purpose of the report is to show the hardly-known Peshmerga struggle and resistance against the Islamic State. It also reveals the suffering of the civilian population, both Kurdish and Iraqi, as a result of the ISIS war. On January 3, 2014, the Islamic State occupied Iraq city of Fallujah. Since then, Peshmerga militias have been doing the critical job of controlling the front and keeping the terrorist group away from Kurdish territory. Despite the efforts of Peshmerga militias, civilians have endured Islamic State violence. Large cities, such as Mosul, have been destroyed. Thousands of families have fled their homes and have been driven to displaced persons camps. Thousands of young refugees have been forced to leave their country to Europe. Thousands of Yazidi women have been raped, sold and murdered. Thousands of people remain missing.

A helmet rests on a sandbag on the front line of Miriam Bag, Kurdistan, Iraq A helmet rests on a sandbag on the front line of Miriam Bag, Kurdistan, Iraq. March 29, 2017
A helmet rests on a sandbag on the front line of Miriam Bag, Kurdistan, Iraq A helmet rests on a sandbag on the front line of Miriam Bag, Kurdistan, Iraq. March 29, 2017
Peshmergas performing agility and resistance exercises to go to war against Daesh. Cobra training camp. Said Sadiq, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 25, 2017 Photography finalist in the global competition for the photography of emerging talents "The 2017 EyeEm Photography Festival & Awards." Of Berlin (Germany), in the photojournalism category among 590,000 images and more than 88,000 photographers.
Peshmergas performing agility and resistance exercises to go to war against Daesh. Cobra training camp. Said Sadiq, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 25, 2017 Photography finalist in the global competition for the photography of emerging talents "The 2017 EyeEm Photography Festival & Awards." Of Berlin (Germany), in the photojournalism category among 590,000 images and more than 88,000 photographers.
Peshmerga assembling and disassembling different types of weapons. Salam training camp. Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 13, 2017
Peshmerga assembling and disassembling different types of weapons. Salam training camp. Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 13, 2017
Peshmergas training their strength and endurance skills. Cobra training camp. Sulaymaniyah, Said-Sadiq, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 25, 2017
Peshmergas training their strength and endurance skills. Cobra training camp. Sulaymaniyah, Said-Sadiq, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 25, 2017
Peshmerga women practice assembling the loader of an AK-47 rifle. Salam training camp. Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 26, 2017
Peshmerga women practice assembling the loader of an AK-47 rifle. Salam training camp. Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 26, 2017
Group of Peshmerga militiamen moving towards one of the battalions of the front line of Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq at sunset. August 11, 2017
Group of Peshmerga militiamen moving towards one of the battalions of the front line of Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq at sunset. August 11, 2017
Peshmerga cooking dinner in one of the battalions of the front line located one kilometer from the Islamic State. Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. August 11, 2017
Peshmerga cooking dinner in one of the battalions of the front line located one kilometer from the Islamic State. Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. August 11, 2017
A general Peshmerga washing in one of the battalions of Zarga's front line, one kilometer from the Daesh, after one night of combat. Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. August 12, 2017
A general Peshmerga washing in one of the battalions of Zarga's front line, one kilometer from the Daesh, after one night of combat. Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. August 12, 2017
A Peshmerga controlling a potential attack by the Islamic State to one of the strategic points in the Tuz Khurmatu front line. In twilight background, rising smoke reveals IS members activity. Tuz Khurmatu; Kurdistan, Iraq. June 19, 2017
A Peshmerga controlling a potential attack by the Islamic State to one of the strategic points in the Tuz Khurmatu front line. In twilight background, rising smoke reveals IS members activity. Tuz Khurmatu; Kurdistan, Iraq. June 19, 2017
Peshmerga on duty at one of the strategic points in the Tuz Khurmatu front line. Tuz Khurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq June 19, 2017
Peshmerga on duty at one of the strategic points in the Tuz Khurmatu front line. Tuz Khurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq June 19, 2017
Peshmergas in the front line getting ready for a potential attack by the Islamic State. Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. August 11, 2017
Peshmergas in the front line getting ready for a potential attack by the Islamic State. Zarga, Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. August 11, 2017
A convoy of Peshmerga militia tanks moving at night in a special operation from the military base to the Tuz Khurmatu front line. Tuz Khurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017. The Peshmerga operation can go for up to 12 hours. Peshmergas guard the military base and must attack IS members infiltrated in the Peshmerga front lines. Moving is not easy, since the jihadists place mines to hinder access. The Peshmerga have to disable the mines to reach the battallions.
A convoy of Peshmerga militia tanks moving at night in a special operation from the military base to the Tuz Khurmatu front line. Tuz Khurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017. The Peshmerga operation can go for up to 12 hours. Peshmergas guard the military base and must attack IS members infiltrated in the Peshmerga front lines. Moving is not easy, since the jihadists place mines to hinder access. The Peshmerga have to disable the mines to reach the battallions.
Peshmerga in front of the lifeless body of a member of the Islamic State a few minutes after the attack of the front line. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Peshmerga in front of the lifeless body of a member of the Islamic State a few minutes after the attack of the front line. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Peshmergas find narcotics in one of the pockets of one IS member infiltrated in the Tuzkhurmatu front line and killed minutes before by the Kurdish militias. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Peshmergas find narcotics in one of the pockets of one IS member infiltrated in the Tuzkhurmatu front line and killed minutes before by the Kurdish militias. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Blood traces from a Peshmerga militiaman killed by the IS while he was sleeping in one of the battalions of the Tuzkhurmatu front line, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Blood traces from a Peshmerga militiaman killed by the IS while he was sleeping in one of the battalions of the Tuzkhurmatu front line, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Peshmergas militiamen lying exhausted on a tank minutes after the Islamic State attack. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Peshmergas militiamen lying exhausted on a tank minutes after the Islamic State attack. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Peshmerga generals and militiamen checking the points where the IS infiltrated and attacked a few hours earlier. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Peshmerga generals and militiamen checking the points where the IS infiltrated and attacked a few hours earlier. Tuzkhurmatu, Kurdistan, Iraq. June 20, 2017
Saman (33), former Peshmerga and doctor, shows his amputated leg following the explosion of an Islamic State mine. He was coming back from rescuing two wounded Peshmergas in an ambulance near Mosul in 2016. He was the only survivor. Pramagran, Kurdistan, Iraq. May 14, 2017
Saman (33), former Peshmerga and doctor, shows his amputated leg following the explosion of an Islamic State mine. He was coming back from rescuing two wounded Peshmergas in an ambulance near Mosul in 2016. He was the only survivor. Pramagran, Kurdistan, Iraq. May 14, 2017
Abdulla (34), former Peshmerga, poses before the camera with his family. A bullet went through his neck in 2016 while fighting the IS in Kirkuk. After being resucitated he remained unconscious for five days in hospital, and spent months unable to talk, see or eat. The bullet caused paralysis. Currently (2017), he has been in bed for 7 months requiring constant care. He did not fight for any political party, but to see his children grow up. Ranya, Kurdistan, Iraq. May 14, 2017
Abdulla (34), former Peshmerga, poses before the camera with his family. A bullet went through his neck in 2016 while fighting the IS in Kirkuk. After being resucitated he remained unconscious for five days in hospital, and spent months unable to talk, see or eat. The bullet caused paralysis. Currently (2017), he has been in bed for 7 months requiring constant care. He did not fight for any political party, but to see his children grow up. Ranya, Kurdistan, Iraq. May 14, 2017
Overview of IDP (Internally Displaced People) Hassan Sham camp. Mossul - Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 17, 2017
Overview of IDP (Internally Displaced People) Hassan Sham camp. Mossul - Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 17, 2017
A group of girls attend class. IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camp Ashti. Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 4, 2017
A group of girls attend class. IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camp Ashti. Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 4, 2017
Displaced families from Mosul queuing desperately during a food supply inside the Hassan Sham Displaced Camp, Mosul, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 17, 2017
Displaced families from Mosul queuing desperately during a food supply inside the Hassan Sham Displaced Camp, Mosul, Kurdistan, Iraq. April 17, 2017
Baxtyar, a young Kurdish Iraqi refugee who had been a Peshmerga fighter against the IS, shows a photograph of his father (also Peshmerga) on his mobile phone. Refugee camp "Jungle", Dunkirk, France. May 4, 2016
Baxtyar, a young Kurdish Iraqi refugee who had been a Peshmerga fighter against the IS, shows a photograph of his father (also Peshmerga) on his mobile phone. Refugee camp "Jungle", Dunkirk, France. May 4, 2016
Baxtyar sleeping inside a wooden hut in the "Jungle" refugee camp, Dunkirk, France. May 7, 2016
Baxtyar sleeping inside a wooden hut in the "Jungle" refugee camp, Dunkirk, France. May 7, 2016
A Kurdish Iraqi refugee listens to his companion's song, on a night inside a wooden hut in the refugee camp of Dunkirk, France. "Jungle" refugee camp, Dunkirk, France. May 12, 2016
A Kurdish Iraqi refugee listens to his companion's song, on a night inside a wooden hut in the refugee camp of Dunkirk, France. "Jungle" refugee camp, Dunkirk, France. May 12, 2016
Sayran K. (40). Yazidi woman. Kidnapped by the IS on August 3, 2014 in Shangal, she covers her face for fear of being discovered. Obliged to convert to Islam. Her family was able to rescue her from the IS for 20,000 dollars. Three years later, she knew nothing of his six daughters and two children still in the hands of the Islamic State. Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq. July 4, 2017
Sayran K. (40). Yazidi woman. Kidnapped by the IS on August 3, 2014 in Shangal, she covers her face for fear of being discovered. Obliged to convert to Islam. Her family was able to rescue her from the IS for 20,000 dollars. Three years later, she knew nothing of his six daughters and two children still in the hands of the Islamic State. Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq. July 4, 2017
Bafrin Shivan. Yazidi Woman (19). Bafrin was kidnapped on the day Daesh occupied Shangal (Iraq) in 2014. She was a16 year-old virgin. Several men from her family were murdered: two brothers, three cousins and two uncles. Bafrin was taken with other women to buildings controlled by Daesh before being sold to a member of the Islamic State. Their daily food intake was a piece of bread or tomato. She explains that they would be given drinks mixed with drugs to control them. Later on, in Mosul, she would be confined with another 200 women in a crowded space with no room to move. In that same place, Daesh leaders would select and take them to their private homes. When bought for the first time, she would witness her friend and fellow prisoner commiting suicide. Bafrin would be sold three times, forced to marry an IS member, and convert to Islam. The man she was forced to marry self-immolated. 4 months later, in 2016, she would manage to escape. A Muslim family helped her to contact her brother, who rescued her from the hands of the Islamic State by raising $18,000 to pay a man who would take her from Mosul to Shangal. Now (2017) Bafrin is in a refugee camp in Duhok with her brother. The rapes, she says, were her worst nightmare. Qadia IDP camp, Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq. July 4, 2017
Bafrin Shivan. Yazidi Woman (19). Bafrin was kidnapped on the day Daesh occupied Shangal (Iraq) in 2014. She was a16 year-old virgin. Several men from her family were murdered: two brothers, three cousins and two uncles. Bafrin was taken with other women to buildings controlled by Daesh before being sold to a member of the Islamic State. Their daily food intake was a piece of bread or tomato. She explains that they would be given drinks mixed with drugs to control them. Later on, in Mosul, she would be confined with another 200 women in a crowded space with no room to move. In that same place, Daesh leaders would select and take them to their private homes. When bought for the first time, she would witness her friend and fellow prisoner commiting suicide. Bafrin would be sold three times, forced to marry an IS member, and convert to Islam. The man she was forced to marry self-immolated. 4 months later, in 2016, she would manage to escape. A Muslim family helped her to contact her brother, who rescued her from the hands of the Islamic State by raising $18,000 to pay a man who would take her from Mosul to Shangal. Now (2017) Bafrin is in a refugee camp in Duhok with her brother. The rapes, she says, were her worst nightmare. Qadia IDP camp, Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq. July 4, 2017
Rwayda Elias. K (26). Yazidi woman. Kidnapped together with her family by ISIS in Shangal in 2014. She was first enslaved with her 6-month-old son by a man in Mosul. She would be locked in a room during her one-month captivity. Elias would remain under ISIS control for 2 years. She would be sold four times. Daeh members would rape her multiple times. The last man bought her in Raqqa. She would remain there for 11 months. Her slavery ended with Kurdistan's prime minister payment of a $30,000 ransom. She is now a refugee in Duhok (2017, one year and three months). She ignores where her family is. She cannot afford psychological attention. Her words: "Daesh has killed my life". Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq. July 4, 2017
Rwayda Elias. K (26). Yazidi woman. Kidnapped together with her family by ISIS in Shangal in 2014. She was first enslaved with her 6-month-old son by a man in Mosul. She would be locked in a room during her one-month captivity. Elias would remain under ISIS control for 2 years. She would be sold four times. Daeh members would rape her multiple times. The last man bought her in Raqqa. She would remain there for 11 months. Her slavery ended with Kurdistan's prime minister payment of a $30,000 ransom. She is now a refugee in Duhok (2017, one year and three months). She ignores where her family is. She cannot afford psychological attention. Her words: "Daesh has killed my life". Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq. July 4, 2017
The bombings were so violent that the remains of a car are visible on the roof of one of the buildings in the old city of Mosul (Old Mosul), Iraq. August 1, 2017
The bombings were so violent that the remains of a car are visible on the roof of one of the buildings in the old city of Mosul (Old Mosul), Iraq. August 1, 2017
Interior of the monastery "Mar-bhnam and Sara", 33 km from Mosul, burned down and destroyed by the IS. Some believers returned to reclaim the space after its liberation. Qaraqosh - Hamdania - Mosul, Iraq. July 31, 2017
Interior of the monastery "Mar-bhnam and Sara", 33 km from Mosul, burned down and destroyed by the IS. Some believers returned to reclaim the space after its liberation. Qaraqosh - Hamdania - Mosul, Iraq. July 31, 2017
Arabic script drawn by ISIS members on one of the pillars inside the Kanesa Altaherea Alkbra church: "(...) The Islamic State remains because it’s got blood" The church was occupied and then burned by the Daesh in 2016. Qaraqosh - Hamdania - Mosul , Iraq. April 17, 2017
Arabic script drawn by ISIS members on one of the pillars inside the Kanesa Altaherea Alkbra church: "(...) The Islamic State remains because it’s got blood" The church was occupied and then burned by the Daesh in 2016. Qaraqosh - Hamdania - Mosul , Iraq. April 17, 2017
General view of the ancient city of Mosul (Old Mosul) and the emblematic mosque "A Nuri Grand Mosque" after its liberation by Iraqi troops with Peshmerga support. Mosul, Iraq. August 1, 2017
General view of the ancient city of Mosul (Old Mosul) and the emblematic mosque "A Nuri Grand Mosque" after its liberation by Iraqi troops with Peshmerga support. Mosul, Iraq. August 1, 2017