In the Shadows of Shrines, Shiite Forces Are Preparing to Fight ISIS

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Thomas Erdbrink

Iraqis walk past the damaged al-Askari mosque following an explosion in 
Samarra, 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Courtesy of TIME.

IRAQ---A dozen miles outside this shrine city, on the edges of the uninhabitable western Iraqi desert, a group of paramilitary policemen provides the only visible line of defense against the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Hunkered down in a command post, its walls fortified with concrete and rubble, the policemen’s leader, Col. Hossein Alegeli, is dispatching one of his ranger teams deep into the sultry wastes in search of Islamic extremists determined to destroy the holy shrines of Shiite Islam. The team might be the first line of defense, but as Shiite officials in the area scramble to meet the threat, it is hardly the last. [link]