IRAQ-CONFLICT

An Iraqi soldier prepares to launch rocket during clashes between Islamic State group fighters and a coalition of combatants made up of the Iraqi army and pro-government fighters including the Al-Abbas Fighting Division, as they take part in a military operation to retake the area of Sayed Ghareeb, near Dujail, some 70 kilometres north of Baghdad from rebel control on January 2, 2015. Iraqi forces backed by Sunni tribes on December 30, completed the recapture of the nearby town of Dhuluiyah located 90 kilometres (55 miles) outside Baghdad, parts of which had been held by the Islamic State jihadist group for months, commanders said. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED SAWAF