From their sandbagged trenches and bunkers, Peshmerga forces peer over Shingal, the Kurdish-Yezidi city in northern Iraq that was overrun a year ago by the Islamic State (ISIS) group.
The extremists still control most of the city, but Kurdish fighters and snipers man the frontlines, keeping a close eye on ISIS activity below.
The city sits on a vital ISIS supply route from Mosul to Raqqa. The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga and other Kurdish forces engage in daily skirmishes with the militants.
These photographs by Rudaw capture Peshmerga conditions inside the trenches in Shingal.
