Here is a selection of photos by Middle East Regional Photo Editor Maya Alleruzzo of Iraqi special forces with their treasured possessions. At positions on the operation's front lines, Iraqi troops carry a variety religious objects and good luck charms into battle. It is a picture on his mobile phone of his brother Saad's body among hundreds of captured Iraqi troops killed in a 2014 massacre carried out by the jihadis. The mounting casualties among Iraqi forces have made the fight increasingly personal for those who remain. The airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition took out the small IS unit that that had him and a dozen other Iraqi troops pinned down inside a house.

Source: New York Times June 27, 2016 05:42 UTC