IRAQ-CONFLICT

Fighters from the Iraqi pro-government forces take position during an operation to retake the town of al-Bashir, near Kirkuk, from the Islamic State group (IS), on April 30, 2016. Iraqi forces launched a final assault Saturday to retake the Turkmen majority town of Bashir from the Islamic State jihadist group, Kurdish authorities said. "Bashir village is surrounded and 80 percent has been cleared," the Kurdistan Region Security Council said on social media. Turkmen units from Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) militia umbrella group, which announced an operation to retake the town earlier this month, were also taking part. (Photo by Mohammed SAWAF / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images)