Clashes between Iraqi army and militants from the Islamic State

MOSUL, IRAQ - AUGUST 16: Kurdish peshmerga patrol of a bridge leading from Guver village to Mosul, destroyed by army groups led by Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIL, on August 16, 2014. Militants from the Islamic State, which then called itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, captured Mosul in June and then surged across northern Iraq, taking control of several predominantly Sunni cities. Peshmerga, the forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government, have been fighting fierce battles with the heavily armed Islamic State militants. (Photo by Ahmet Izgi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)