Photo essay: Taking Tikrit and beyond

Italian reporter Daniele Raineri photographed the aftermath of the liberation of Tikrit from ISIS forces while documenting life in Iraq.

Daniele Raineri, Italian reporter for newspaper Il Foglio, is currently traveling in Iraq. He’s been tweeting close-up photos of Shi’ite paramilitary groups and posting descriptions of life in Tikrit, Baghdad and Samarra.

Here are some of the most significant moments of the visual diary he’s been keeping.

Photos courtesy of Daniele Raineri of Il Foglio.

Tikrit

Last week, the Iraqi city of Tikrit was finally wrestled back from ISIS after the group had occupied it for more than nine months. Pro-government forces entering the Iraqi city looted shops and houses. And each day come new reports of mass graves where more than 1500 bodies have reportedly been found.

Iraqi forces in Tikrit. On the wall, graffiti in Farsi left behind by pro-Iranian militia: ‘You only lasted a few weeks in Tikrit.’

“Tikrit — Introduced himself as a local fighter of the Sunni Al Jubouri clan.”

“Shiite fighters on the waterfront. In June cadets were marched to this same point, shot and pushed into the Tigris.” On 12 June 2014, the Islamic State killed at least 1,566 cadets of the Iraqi Air Force in an attack on Camp Speicher in Tikrit.

Baghdad

“In a move carefully coreographed, Hashd al Shaabi attended the Easter Mass in Baghdad. Here: leaving the gun outside.”

“Abu Azrael enters the church. He is considered ‘the hero of the people’s mobilization’ against the Islamic State.”

Samarra

“Samarra today (April 7, 2015) is the hub of the military operations stretching toward the north (Baiji, Hawija, Maqshifa)”

“Heard very short burst of gunfire after the explosion. Never mind, normal life goes on in Samarra.”

A man praying inside the mosque of Samarra in Iraq (Photo: Daniele Raineri/Il Foglio)

“An Iraqi soldier kissing the door of the Al ‘Askarī mosque in Samarra.”

Shi’ite paramilitary groups in a central roundabout of Samarra, Iraq. (Photo: Daniele Raineri/Il Foglio)