The battle for Mosul stalls: 'we are fighting the devil himself' - for The Guardian

December 06, 2016 in tearsheets

Work covering the Mosul offensive for The Guardian as the fight between Iraqi forces and ISIS continues. Read the article here.

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A clearance team builds a small wall around what was believed to be an ISIS chemical grenade during clearance operations at Al-Shifa Hospital, in west Mosul. The hospital was previously the largest center for healthcare in the city and heavily damaged during fighting between Iraqi forces and ISIS during 2017. Reconstruction projects are currently underway to rehabilitate the vast facility after explosive contaminants were cleared from the area. Due to the size of the complex both clearance operations and reconstruction are happening simultaneously. Checkout the @un_mineaction exhibit at @photovillenyc this weekend to learn more about the demining and rebuilding efforts in Iraq. #afterisis #rebuildingiraq #iraq

Fasil Salih, 31, is from east Mosul, Iraq and part of a crew clearing rubble from outside a female fertility center at Al-Shifa Hospital, in west Mosul. The hospital was previously the largest center for healthcare in the city and was heavily damaged during fighting between Iraqi forces and ISIS during 2017. Reconstruction projects are currently underway to rehabilitate the vast facility after the area was cleared of explosive contaminants. Due to the size of the complex both clearance operations and reconstruction are happening simultaneously. Checkout the @un_mineaction exhibit at @photovillenyc this weekend to learn more about the demining and rebuilding efforts in Iraq. #afterisis #rebuildingiraq #iraq

Local police leading the hunt for an ISIS bomb-making factory through the Old City of Mosul. Checkout the @un_mineaction exhibit at @photovillenyc this weekend to learn more about the demining and rebuilding efforts in Iraq. #afterisis #rebuildingiraq #iraq

Raad Nadim, 37, is from the Old City in west Mosul and stayed in his house during the fighting. He sheltered with three other families and was able to escape the fighting during the final assault on the Old City. Three days after they left, his house was badly damaged by the battle. He’s a father for two children and is renting a house on the east side of the city while trying to fix the damage. “All we had to eat was flour and water,” Raad said of his experience sheltering during the final battle. “ISIS would come and fight with the women over the food.” He’s currently using rubble from his neighbor’s completely destroyed house to fill in the holes in his building. ISIS dug tunnels through the walls to help them navigate between houses without being seen from the air and Raad proudly showed off how he filled in those holes. He use to own a mobile phone shop before the war but says it’s all destroyed or stolen. “Now I’m just trying to fix what I can,” Raad said looking over the damage. Shot while documenting the clearance efforts by @un_mineaction around his house, facilitating the return of civilians to the area. A gallery with that work is up now at @photovillenyc in NYC. #iraqrebuilds #safehome #afterisis

If you’ve been following along, you may remember this neighborhood of west Mosul from March 2017. @jmacbeck and I were embedded with Iraqi Special Forces as they battled ISIS house by house. You may also remember the horrific bombing from that month and the images shared here of rescue workers pulling bodies from concrete rubble. I returned to that neighborhood earlier this year with @un_mineaction and was greeted by scenes like this. There’s still immense destruction and pain, but this time it’s contrasted with happier moments. Head down to @photovillenyc this week to see more. #iraq #afterisis

Hibah and her son Hussein survived the brutal battle for west Mosul but their house was completely destroyed. They struggled finding a place to live and eventually ended up renting space to live in a veterinary hospital. In February of 2018, Hussein was walking home from school after a heavy rainstorm with his cousin and two friends. His cousin accidentally stepped on an IED hidden in the mud, lacerating his legs and severely wounding Hussein. Shrapnel tore through Hussein’s stomach and pierced his liver. Both his legs and arms have shrapnel in them. Hibah is afraid his wounds are becoming infected because they can’t afford new bandages, “The doctor told us to change the wound wrappings every day but we can’t afford it so we do it once a week.” She’s afraid he’ll be injured again by unexploded ordinance and has stopped letting him play in the street. ISIS revolutionized improvised explosive devices and turned areas under their control into assembly line bomb factories. They left countless boobytraps, land mines, and carbombs in their wake. The fight against them as well, scattered munitions like mortars, grenades, and bombs dropped by the US-led coalition. Men and women from Iraq and the international community are working to clear these explosives so Iraqi society can continue. Earlier this year I partnered with @un_mineaction to document their demining efforts and the people helping to rebuild the country after ISIS. Some of that work opens tonight at @photovillenyc under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York in an exhibition titled “Safe Home”. I’ll be posting excerpts from that project here over the next week.

Hibah and her son Hussein survived the brutal battle for west Mosul but their house was completely destroyed. They struggled finding a place to live and eventually ended up renting space to live in a veterinary hospital. In February of 2018, Hussein was walking home from school after a heavy rainstorm with his cousin and two friends. His cousin accidentally stepped on an IED hidden in the mud, lacerating his legs and severely wounding Hussein. Shrapnel tore through Hussein’s stomach and pierced his liver. Both his legs and arms have shrapnel in them. Hibah is afraid his wounds are becoming infected because they can’t afford new bandages, “The doctor told us to change the wound wrappings every day but we can’t afford it so we do it once a week.” She’s afraid he’ll be injured again by unexploded ordinance and has stopped letting him play in the street. ISIS revolutionized improvised explosive devices and turned areas under their control into assembly line bomb factories. They left countless boobytraps, land mines, and carbombs in their wake. The fight against them as well, scattered munitions like mortars, grenades, and bombs dropped by the US-led coalition. Men and women from Iraq and the international community are working to clear these explosives so Iraqi society can continue. Earlier this year I partnered with @un_mineaction to document their demining efforts and the people helping to rebuild the country after ISIS. Some of that work opens tonight at @photovillenyc under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York in an exhibition titled “Safe Home”. I’ll be posting excerpts from that project here over the next week.

Noir Khalif, 20, tried fleeing ISIS territory on the 6th of January, 2017 but stepped on an IED which killed one of her sons and tore off her hand. After the injuries, her husband left her and took their remaining son with him. She’s living with her mother now in a damaged house on the west side of Mosul. Noir laughed a lot as we spoke and smiled deeply as she showed the scars crisscrossing her arms. ISIS revolutionized improves explosive devices and turned areas under their control into assembly line bomb factories. They left countless boobytraps, land mines, and carbombs in their wake. The fight against them as well, scattered munitions like mortars, grenades, and bombs dropped by the US-led coalition. Men and women from Iraq and the international community are working to clear these explosives so Iraqi society can continue. Earlier this year I partnered with @un_mineaction to document their demining efforts and the people helping to rebuild the country after ISIS. Some of that work opens tomorrow at @photovillenyc under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York in an exhibition titled “Safe Home”. I’ll be posting excerpts from that project here over the next week.

This is a pathway leading through the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. What you can't see in this picture is the danger. The highly unstable 40 mm grenades mixed in with the rubble on the left of the frame or the mortars stacked in the back seat of a partially destroyed car around the bend. As Iraqis try rebuilding, they face the incredible obstacle of unexploded ordinance left behind by the battle. ISIS revolutionized improves explosive devices and turned areas under their control into assembly line bomb factories. They left countless boobytraps, land mines, and carbombs in their wake. The fight against them as well, scattered munitions like mortars, grenades, and bombs dropped by the US-led coalition. Men and women from Iraq and the international community are working to clear these explosives so Iraqi society can continue. Earlier this year I partnered with @un_mineaction to document their demining efforts and the people helping to rebuild the country after ISIS. Some of that work opens tomorrow at @photovillenyc under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York in an exhibition titled “Safe Home”. I’ll be posting excerpts from that project here over the next week.

The destroyed Old City of Mosul, Iraq as seen from the east bank of the Tigris River. The cost of the war against ISIS can be seen across Iraq. The damage done to cities is immense with neighborhoods, like this one in Mosul, reduced almost completely to rubble. Power plants, water wells, bridges, hospitals, and other infrastructure essential for society to function were damaged or completely destroyed. As Iraqis try rebuilding, they face the incredible obstacle of unexploded ordinance left behind by the battle. ISIS revolutionized improves explosive devices and turned areas under their control into assembly line bomb factories. They left countless boobytraps, land mines, and carbombs in their wake. The fight against them as well, scattered munitions like mortars, grenades, and bombs dropped by the US-led coalition. Brave men and women from Iraq and the international community are working to clear these explosives so Iraqi society can continue. Earlier this year I partnered with @un_mineaction to document their demining efforts and the men and women helping to rebuild the country after ISIS. Some of that work opens tomorrow at @photovillenyc under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York in an exhibition titled “Safe Home”. I’ll be posting excerpts from that project here over the next week.

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