From a tot badly-burnt in a suicide bomb attack to refugees fleeing fighting in Mosul, powerful AP images reveal the most harrowing and colourful moments in the Middle East in 2016
Startling images give glimpse into life in the troubled region
FOR the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2016 was a year of gruelling warfare.
Here is a selection of the best photos from Associated Press photographers across the region.
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Asal Ahmed, 4, was badly burned during a suicide truck bomb attack in Karada, Iraq, during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-FitrCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A performer in an Iraqi pantomime prepares for a show in DiwaniyahCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Children beg for food during an aid distribution in Khazer camp for the displaced in Iraqi KurdistanCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A Syrian army soldier places a Syrian national flag during a battle with rebel fighters at the Ramouseh front line, east of AleppoCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A woman covers herself with a blanket while visiting Khour salt lake in the Mesr desert about 305 miles southeast of Tehran, IranCredit: AP:Associated Press
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An elderly woman fires into the air at a military base south of Mosul in IraqCredit: AP:Associated Press
The year saw the campaign against the ISIS gain momentum, with international coalitions and local forces pushing back their territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya.
But the militants also lashed back carrying out a spectacular truck bomb attack on a shopping mall complex in Iraq as people prepared for the Muslim holiday Eid.
Their Egypt branch carried out a similarly brazen suicide attack at Cairo's main cathedral.
Operations to wrest the group from Mosul, their last major stronghold in Iraq, began in October.
But the fight has bogged down in tough urban warfare.
And in Syria, the fight against ISIS was eclipsed by the brutal last days of the rebel-held enclave in Aleppo, which fell to government forces after weeks of siege.
Mercifully, 2016 also brought opportunities for people to gather for sacred days and in celebration of their daily lives.
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Kayaks, 7, poses for a picture holding toy gun in a camp where Christians displaced by ISIS militants are living in Irbil, IraqCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A member of the Iraqi Special Forces shoots his machine gun while fighting ISIS in MosulCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A Shiite re-enacts the events of Ashoura while Iranian and Iraqi Shiite Muslims mourn in a procession in southern TehranCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Groom Jassim Mohammed walks with his bride, Amena Ali, during their wedding ceremony at a camp for internally displaced people in Khazir, near MosulCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Iranians spend time in Urmia Lake near Urmia, north-western IranCredit: AP:Associated Press
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People flee fighting between Iraqi forces and ISIS fighters on a road in eastern MosulCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Contestants in the first Miss Trans Israel beauty pageant practice the walk on the stage during rehearsal in Tel Aviv, IsraelCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Israeli Arab boys jump into the Mediterranean sea from the ancient wall surrounding the old city of Acre, northern IsraelCredit: AP:Associated Press
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The sun sets over the the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, EgyptCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Iranian Shiite Muslims pray as they place the Quran on their heads at the graves of soldiers who were killed during 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemeteryCredit: AP:Associated Press
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