After more than a year under Islamic State control, the Iraqi town of Shingal was liberated by a Kurdish-led offensive in mid-November. The town lies on a major road connecting Mosul and Raqqa, the two strongholds of the Islamic State.
The devastation of fifteen months of airstrikes and ground combat was immense. Much of the city was leveled and almost no structure escaped damage. ISIS booby traps scattered the city.
