Iraqi Army

A group of kids play in the Mosul

Civilians fleeing Mosul face a deadly journey to freedom

Conflict

In order to escape, residents have to negotiate their way through a hail of sniper fire, mortars and airstrikes.

Shiite fighters fire a rocket during clashes with ISIS militants in Iraq's Salahuddin province on March 1, 2015. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen sought to seal off ISIS in Tikrit and nearby towns.

The US is sitting out Iraq’s big battle in Tikrit — but Iran isn’t

Conflict
Policemen who fled Mosul train in a camp near Erbil to try to take their city back from ISIS.

The men who ran from ISIS in Mosul say they’re ready to take the city back

Conflict
A view of the oil refinery in Baiji, Iraq, taken in 2007, when it was operational. The refinery has been shut down since June 2014.

The US has intervened to help Iraq hold its most important oil facility

Conflict
ISIS flags flutter on the Mullah Abdullah bridge in southern Kirkuk in early October 2014. The Iraqi Kurdish security forces are dug-in at the opposite end of the bridge.

The campaign against ISIS isn’t producing big victories

Conflict
Penguins

Now you can stare at cute, cuddly penguin photos — and help scientists, too

Global Scan

Scientists studying penguins in the Antarctic have set up automated cameras to document the lives of the sea birds. Unfortunately, all that footage has to be categorized — and that’s where you come in. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Air Force is smarting after an embarrassing blunder of reinforcing ISIS militants. And in China, the police were taking no chances with a group of ceremonial pigeons. Those stories and more, in today’s Global Scan.

A demonstrator holds a banner with a picture of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr during a protest against the entry of American troops into Iraq on September 26, 2014. The words on the banner read "No No America."

A militant Iraqi cleric wants to fight ISIS without US help, and he’s far from alone

Conflict

My enemy’s enemy is not my friend, says militant Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. His militia once fought American soldiers and is now mobilizing to take on ISIS, but Sadr and others, even some Iraqi politicians, want no part of US-led airstrikes against the terrorist group.

“Long live the Iraqi army,” tattooed on Sirgon Horomes’ arm. He says now he’s disappointed the army did not protect him and other Christians.

Thousands of young Christian Iraqis have joined the fight against ISIS — but few have faith it will help

Conflict

In recent months, Iraqi Christians have been displaced by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Christian leaders in northern Iraq are calling upon young Christian men fight alongside the Peshmerga and Iraqi army against ISIS. While thousands are heeding the call, most remain skeptical.

Iraq's Shi'ite militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Iraq has a new prime minister, but its powerful militias might not care

Conflict

Political tensions have calmed in Baghdad, but unrest in Iraq has given power — and weaponry — to the Shiite militias who stepped up to help fight ISIS. Now no one is sure if they’ll still listen to the Iraqi government or look after their own interests.

The Iraq War in 2004, captured by Canadian photojournalist Rita Leistner

New photos from Iraq trouble photographer who covered the last war

Conflict & Justice

Canadian photojournalist Rita Leistner looks at Shia civilians volunteering for battle against ISIS fighters. “Half the time they’re only wearing slip-on sandals as they head off to war,” Leistner says.