north east of the country restricted our
movement this time. They wouldn’t let us
go down to Deir ez-Zor, the scene of the
last stand by ISIS, citing sleeper cells and
attacks that were still going on. I think
there’re still clean-up operations going
on; they’re still hunting down elements
of ISIS that were hiding there. For sure,
ISIS has largely been degraded on the
ground and had this huge territory they
controlled taken away from them. They
don’t govern anything in Iraq or Syria
anymore, but the threat is still there.:KDWLVWKHQDWXUHRIWKDWWKUHDW"
Two days after we left, there were a
number of attacks in Raqqa and in Deir
ez-Zor by so-called sleeper cells and that’s
probably the way it’s going to be now.
You’re still going to have tons of support
for ISIS in that part of Syria and parts of
Iraq as well. We’ve seen it in Iraq in the
last year and a half since they declaredISIS defeated. It’s been continuous, every
week there are small scale insurgent-style
attacks going on against security forces
and civilians. It’s not on the same scale
that it was – they don’t have this territory
anymore – but for people living on the
ground it’s still dangerous.'RHVWKHWKRXJKWRIJRLQJEDFN
PDNH\RXQHUYRXV"
In a way. When there’s a conventional
military confrontation going on you’re
embedded with one side with relatively
well-organized troops and coalition air
support, so you feel safe in many ways.<RXQHHGWREHWRGR\RXUMRE«
Yeah, but in this supposed post-war
situation there is a new kind of danger- you’re on your own and you’re allowed
to move more freely in these areas, but
they’re not totally secure at all. In Deir
H]=RUWKHUH·VDKXJHDUHDWKDW·VGLIÀFXOW
(^02) A CHANCE TO ESCAPE
Civilians walk past the body of an ISIS fighter
killed in an overnight air strike as they flee
heavy clashes between Iraqi special forces
and ISIS militants in west Mosul
Lens Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Exposure 1/250 sec, f/11, ISO800
(^03) READY TO ATTACK
Iraqi soldiers wait to move forward in an
early morning operation to clear the last
remaining pockets of ISIS resistance in
a neighbourhood of west Mosul
Lens Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Exposure 1/1250 sec, f/8, ISO1600
(^04) THE ROAD TO SAFETY
Iraqi civilians displaced by fighting in the
village of Shora, 25km south of Mosul,
reach an Iraqi army checkpoint
Lens Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Exposure 1/160 sec, f/13, ISO400
68 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
THEPROINTERVIEW