Maya Alleruzzo | Photojournalist

Maya Alleruzzo | Photojournalist

Iraq

1st Sgt. Malik Jaber wears green cloth from the revered Imam Abbas shrine on his body armor, at a front line position on the southern edge of Fallujah, Iraq. He says he credits the holy object with saving his life when the Special Forces were fighting IS militants in Beiji, the central Iraqi town that is also home to a key oil refinery. “This time it will keep me safe again,” Jaber said, “God willing.”

The things they carried - Iraqi Special Forces

A girl with a shaved head cries as the family flees the al-Rifai neighborhood while Iraqi special forces battle Islamic State militants in Mosul on May 17, 2017.

In the shadow of the Islamic State group

An Iraqi family reacts as U.S. soldiers detain their teenage relative after a rocket propelled grenade attack in Mosul on March 31, 2008.

America's long shadow

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