Photo Gallery The Disintigration of Iraq
Since last week, Islamist militants from ISIS have marched steadily deeper into Iraq and are now only a few dozen kilometers from Baghdad. The group's success is symptomatic of Iraq's disintigration.
A family who fled from the violence in Mosul sit inside a tent at a camp on the outskirts of Erbril in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Some 800,000 people have been forced to flee the city.
Fighters from ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, march through the Syrian town of Tel Abyad in January. The group wants to erase the borders that currently divide the region.
Refugees from Mosul fleeing Mosul. ISIS has taken over several towns and cities in Iraq in recent days. The Iraqi army has been slow to respond and some units have disbanded entirely.
Kurdish troops in Iraq, known as Peshmerga, are among the best the country has left. They have vowed to defend the Kurdistan regions of the country against ISIS.
Masoud Ali and his family in Erbril where they fled from Mosul. Ali, like most residents of Mosul, is also a Sunni. He had heard the mayor calling for the citizens of Mosul to defend themselves against ISIS. "But why should I have defended myself?" he asks. "For the Shiite government? For Prime Minister Maliki, who oppresses the Sunnis?" He shakes his head. "The conflict has escalated because people in Iraq dont like the government anymore."
