Photos: What ISIS has left behind in its fallen strongholds

Oct 20, 2017 11:58 IST

A drone grab reveals mile after mile of damaged buildings, rubble-filled streets and destroyed landmarks in Raqqa, Syria two days after Syrian Democratic Forces said military operations to oust the Islamic State have ended. A long road lies ahead before citizens can return to cities they once called home and remnants of ISIS rule are widespread amid the carnage in the meanwhile. (Gabriel Chaim / AP)

An ISIS flag is pictured above a destroyed house near the Clock Square in Raqqa, Syria on October 18, 2017. The hard-won battles, lasting months have left vast destruction in their wake, and celebrations from atop the rubble of once-grand buildings ring hollow for the hundreds of thousands of displaced residents. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

An armoured Islamic State vehicle intended for suicide car bombing is seen along a road in Raqqa, Syria on October 18, 2017. US-backed SDF forces are now combing the ruins of the Syrian city for survivors, bombs and booby traps. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

Bombs inside a vehicle used by the Islamic State militants in suicide car bombings are left defused by a de-mining team in Raqqa, Syria on October 18, 2017. SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali told AFP that a formal announcement of the liberation of the city would only come once de-mining is completed. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

An Iraqi soldier holds a sword which the Iraqi army said belonged to Islamic State fighters, in Zumar, Nineveh province, Iraq on October 18, 2017. (Ari Jalal / REUTERS)

A view of a bunker of the Islamic State under the stadium in Raqqa, Syria on October 18, 2017. In Raqqa, the city hospital and the stadium were the final strongholds of the group and used as jails and torture facilities, also housing civilians being used as human shields. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

An unexploded bomb inside a juice bottle is pictured near the bunker of the Islamic State militants under the stadium in Raqqa, Syria on October 18, 2017. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

An IV hose is pictured at a makeshift hospital of the Islamic State under the stadium in Raqqa, Syria on October 18, 2017. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

SDF fighters inspect the bunker of the Islamic State militants under the stadium in Raqqa, Syria on October 18, 2017. The stadium also served as one of the largest jails operated by ISIS and an arms depot for the group. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

A uniform of a member of Islamic State militants is pictured as it was displayed by the SDF at their positions inside a building captured at the frontline in Raqqa during the final offensive on October 6, 2017. Fleeing jihadis are regrouping in remote areas, rearming with the help of desert smugglers. Tensions also brew over who will ultimately control Raqqa and if ISIS will now resort to guerilla tactics. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces inspect weapons and munitions recovered at the former positions of the Islamic State inside a building at the frontline in Raqqa, Syria on October 7, 2017. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

Mortar rounds are pictured at the weapons manufacturing plant of the Islamic State captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces near the stadium in Raqqa, Syria on October 4, 2017. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

An emblem of the Islamic State along with damage from gunfire is seen inside a school during an earlier leg of the battle for Raqqa in Hazema, Syria on August 21, 2017. (Zohra Bensemra / REUTERS)

The destroyed al-Hadba minaret at the Grand al-Nuri Mosque is seen in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq on July 20, 2017. Nine months of fighting in the west of Mosul, where militants holed up during their final stand left the area virtually uninhabitable. Before ISIS captured the city, Mosul was home to 1.1 million people. UN officials estimate that just restoring basic services there could cost more than $1 billion. (Thaier Al-Sudani / REUTERS)

$Children play at the ruins of a building destroyed in an air strike during anti ISIS offensives in Kobani, Syria on October 11, 2017. This city may offer a glimpse into what lies ahead for areas where ISIS only recently was driven out. Kurdish fighters fought fiercely here, early in 2015. Nearly three years later, roads are still being repaved, reconstruction has been slow and only a fraction of the prewar population has returned. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)$

Children play at the ruins of a building destroyed in an air strike during anti ISIS offensives in Kobani, Syria on October 11, 2017. This city may offer a glimpse into what lies ahead for areas where ISIS only recently was driven out. Kurdish fighters fought fiercely here, early in 2015. Nearly three years later, roads are still being repaved, reconstruction has been slow and only a fraction of the prewar population has returned. (Erik De Castro / REUTERS)

about the gallery

Declarations of victory play out across Iraq and Syria as the long campaigns to retake city after city from Islamic State control bear fruition. Though the group is displaced, the battles have left destruction in their wake and the ghosts of cities robbed of their former glory.

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