From 2014 to 2017, Raqqa was the de facto capital of what the Islamic State called its caliphate. “They were called Islamic State and they behaved like a state.”Medical waste at an illegal dump in Raqqa. Raqqa was largely destroyed by heavy aerial bombardment during the military campaign to oust Islamic State, and the consequences are still evident. A earth-mover deals with rubbish from an illegal dumping ground in Raqqa city. In a previous life he covered Assad and his family for Syrian state media, before documenting the Syrian revolution for international media, using a pseudonym, and then the takeover of Raqqa by Islamic State.

Source: The Irish Times February 27, 2026 16:30 UTC