Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters hold a position on the front line near Hasan Sham village, some 45 kilometres east of the city of Mosul, during an operation aimed at retaking areas from the Islamic State group on May 29, 2016. The "peshmerga-led ground offensive, backed by international coalition warplanes" started before dawn, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said. The fresh push against the jihadist organisation comes a week after Iraqi forces launched an operation against Fallujah, IS's only other major urban hub in Iraq. / AFP / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)