SHINGAL, Kurdistan Region - A Peshmerga sniper peers out of a sandbag bunker and down the slopes at Shingal city, less than a kilometer away from his machine-gun nest.
The Islamic State massacred most of the city's Yezidi inhabitants last year, killing, kidnapping and enslaving thousands of local people.
The extremists still control most of the city, but Kurdish fighters, like the Peshmerga sniper, man the frontlines around the city and keep a close eye on ISIS activity below.
Shingal sits on a vital ISIS supply route from Mosul to Raqqa. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Peshmerga engage in daily skirmishes with the militants.
The Peshmerga and PKK fight a common enemy, but the Kurdish fighters are often at odds on Mount Shingal.
Two questions linger in this highly contested battle zone: when will Shingal be liberated, and what will happen after it is?
Rudaw's Kurt Nagl reports from Shingal.
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