Mosul: Photos of the Toll in Iraq's War

See photos from the front lines in the battle for Mosul
A woman stands among buildings damaged by a coalition airstrikes in Mansour district, in southwest Mosul. According to local people at leat 21 civilians have been used in the area as human shield by Isis.
A woman stands among buildings damaged by a coalition airstrikes in Mansour district, in southwest Mosul. According to local people at leat 21 civilians have been used in the area as human shield by Isis.

INSIDE MOSUL

An intimate view of the war’s toll

TEXT BY Jared Malsin / PHOTOGRAPHS BY Emanuele Satolli for TIME

 

The battle for Mosul is approaching an endgame. Over nearly half a year of fighting, an Iraqi-led, American-backed military offensive has driven ISIS out of more than half the city and surrounded the militants in an enclave on the western bank of the Tigris. As a result, the Islamic State is on the brink of losing the largest and most important city it once claimed as a part of its realm in Iraq and Syria.

The fighting is taking an increasing toll on civilians. During a reporting trip with Italian photographer Emanuele Satolli in March and April, residents recounted terrifying scenes: ISIS militants taking human shields and imprisoning people in their homes, airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition that leveled entire houses. Reports of civilian deaths from American-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria soared in March to more than 1,700, an all-time high in the campaign against ISIS.

In its wake, the battle leaves otherworldly scenes of destruction and desperation. The reclaimed section of Western Mosul still lacks running water, electricity and reliable sources of food. At a displacement camp south of the city, we saw police shooting in the air to contain crowds of people clamoring for cardboard boxes of aid.

During the days we spent in and around Mosul, we met many Mosul residents who endured the bizarre and brutal rule of ISIS, survived the battle and who still faced an uncertain and foreboding future.

A sniper from the Iraqi Federal Police in the Dawasa neighborhood of Mosul on March 30.
A sniper from the Iraqi Federal Police in the Dawasa neighborhood of Mosul on March 30.
The alley where some 16 civilians were killed in the Dawasa neighborhood of Mosul, photographed on March 30.
The alley where some 16 civilians were killed in the Dawasa neighborhood of Mosul, photographed on March 30.
A member of the Iraqi special forces' Rapid Response Brigade looks at mortars manufactured by ISIS inside a house in the al-Aqeedat district in southwest Mosul on March 29.
A member of the Iraqi special forces’ Rapid Response Brigade looks at mortars manufactured by ISIS inside a house in the al-Aqeedat district in southwest Mosul on March 29.
Civilians walk on a street in the Dawasa neighborhood of southwest Mosul on March 30.
Civilians walk on a street in the Dawasa neighborhood of southwest Mosul on March 30.
U.S. soldiers recover a Puma drone after a surveillance mission over western Mosul on April 6.
U.S. soldiers recover a Puma drone after a surveillance mission over western Mosul on April 6.
Civilians return via Baghdad Road to a liberated neighborhood in southwest Mosul on March 31.
Civilians return via Baghdad Road to a liberated neighborhood in southwest Mosul on March 31.
Karim Jassem Mohammed, 19, who was shot in the hand by an ISIS sniper while he was queuing for bread in the Mosul Al-Jadida district of southwest Mosul, is treated at a field hospital on March 31.
Karim Jassem Mohammed, 19, who was shot in the hand by an ISIS sniper while he was queuing for bread in the Mosul Al-Jadida district of southwest Mosul, is treated at a field hospital on March 31.
A boy looks at the body of a dead man on the street in the al-Aqeedat district of southwest Mosul on March 29.
A boy looks at the body of a dead man on the street in the al-Aqeedat district of southwest Mosul on March 29.
A group of students hold hands while playing in the yard at the Zahret Al-Mada'en school in eastern Mosul on April 2.
A group of students hold hands while playing in the yard at the Zahret Al-Mada’en school in eastern Mosul on April 2.
Displaced Mosul residents swarm an aid truck at Hammam al-Alil camp southwest of the city on April 6.
Displaced Mosul residents swarm an aid truck at Hammam al-Alil camp southwest of the city on April 6.
Iraqis wait for food distribution in Mosul’s Aqeedat neighborhood on March 29.
Iraqis wait for food distribution in Mosul’s Aqeedat neighborhood on March 29.
The house of Median Hikmat Al-Galou was destroyed during fighting between the Iraqi special forces and ISIS in the al-Aqeedat district of southwest Mosul. The man, posing with his son on March 29, said ISIS gunmen barged into his home in late February, moved in and then took his family hostage—even using them as human shields.
The house of Median Hikmat Al-Galou was destroyed during fighting between the Iraqi special forces and ISIS in the al-Aqeedat district of southwest Mosul. The man, posing with his son on March 29, said ISIS gunmen barged into his home in late February, moved in and then took his family hostage—even using them as human shields.
A group of boys during a classroom lesson at the Zahret Al-Mada'en school in eastern Mosul on April 2.
A group of boys during a classroom lesson at the Zahret Al-Mada’en school in eastern Mosul on April 2.
A boy rides a bicycle through floodwaters after heavy rains in the al-Aqeedat district of southwest Mosul on April 1..
A boy rides a bicycle through floodwaters after heavy rains in the al-Aqeedat district of southwest Mosul on April 1.

Emanuele Satolli is an Italian photographer based in Istanbul. Follow him on Instagram @emanuelesatolli.

Andrew Katz, who edited this photo essay, is TIME’s Senior Multimedia Editor. Follow him on Twitter @katz.

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