In Pictures

Sinjar in the aftermath of ISIL

Although the town has been recaptured by Kurdish forces, many Sinjar residents are still wary of returning.

Sinjar /DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED — Peshmerga fighters search for improvised explosive devices on the roof of a destroyed house in Sinjar. [Hawre Khalid/Al Jazeera]

Sinjar, Iraq – After more than a year of being under the control of fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Sinjar was recaptured this month by Kurdish fighters backed by US-led coalition air strikes.

Since ISIL arrived in Sinjar last year, the town has been decimated, with scores of Yazidi residents killed, enslaved or forced to flee. Many are eager to come back, but they remain wary of improvised explosive devices and other booby traps that ISIL might have laid.

Despite the danger, some residents have ventured back to collect their belongings or check on the status of their homes and businesses.