Following the fall of the Baathist regime in 2003, Iraq has become a stranger to peace. In 2011, with rise in the conflict in neighbouring country Syria, coupled with the tension and insecure Iraqi government, a new group emerged by the name of the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria”, previously a branch of Al-Qaeda. On the 29th of June 2014, the group proclaimed itself as the “Islamic State” under the leadership of their “caliph” Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

ISIS have now taken control of large portions of land in the north of Iraq and have committed many war crimes beyond belief. Following this unrelenting turmoil in Iraq, Ahlulbayt TV’s Amir Taki & Mustafa Masood travelled to the region in early 2015. Here they filmed exclusive footage of the voluntary Iraqi army fighting on the front lines defending the country against the Islamic State (ISIS).