Iraqi Kurdish and Turkmen Shiite forces from the Popular Mobilisation units guard a base on May 1, 2016 on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi town of al-Bashir after they recaptured the town from the control of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Pressure for an operation to retake the town had grown in March after IS launched a chemical attack from Bashir on the nearby town of Taza that killed at least three children. / AFP / Marwan IBRAHIM