On the edge of chaos

The road leading to the front line is dotted with checkpoints. To cross them, you just need the right number to call. With the authorisation given and the barrier passed, the tarmac road peters out to a gravel path that climbs up into the mountains. A few kilometres along the dirt road and you can glimpse Mosul in the distance. The sky is clear as Peshmerga forces prepare to retake control of Bashiqa, a town 15 miles north of Mosul. Once inhabited by thousands of Yazidis, Shabaak and Christians, most of its residents fled when the Islamic State (IS) overran the city in June 2014 as they took over large swaths of the country from neighbouring Syria.