Middle East in review

Middle East in review is a monthly gallery that features some of the top photojournalism made by AP staff photographers and freelancers based in AP’s Middle East, Afghanistan & Pakistan region.  

This month’s selection highlights Mosul, where Iraqi security forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes battled Islamic State militants in Iraq’s second largest city. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced; hundreds of civilians have died and thousands more have been injured.

Nearby in the Mediterranean Sea, the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier where F18 fighter jets launched multiple times a day from the carrier bombing the Islamic State militant positions in Iraq and Syria.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan was a painful one across the region and the globe: Islamic State militants carried out attacks in Iran, Egypt and Britain. In Gaza, people fasted as Israel's national electric company cut back its already limited electricity shipments to the Gaza Strip in a step that is expected to worsen the power crunch plaguing the Hamas-controlled seaside territory.

On Laylat al-Qadr, Night of Decree, on the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, faithful gathered in Iran and Saudi Arabia, even after attacks across the region and the destruction of the al-Nuri mosque.

Muslims marked Eid al-Fitr, a festive time marking the end of Ramadan, and people gathered everywhere to celebrate in new clothes.

In an AP Investigation in Yemen, former detainees said abuses are widespread in a network of secret prisons run by the United Arab Emirates and its Yemeni allies, into which hundreds detained in the hunt for al-Qaida militants have disappeared.

This gallery was curated by Maya Alleruzzo, Chief Associated Press photo editor for the Mideast, Afghanistan & Pakistan.

Iraq Mosul

Zeid Ali, 12, left, and Hodayfa Ali, 11, comfort each other after their house was hit and collapsed during fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Saturday, June 24, 2017. The Ali cousins said some of their family members are still under the rubble. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iran Ramadan

Iranian Shiite Muslims place copies of Quran, Islam's holy book, on their heads while praying in Laylat al-Qadr, or the night of destiny, during holy fasting month of Ramadan after midnight, in central Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Egypt Ramadan Dawn Caller

Dalal Abdel-Qader, known as Hajjah Dalal, a 43-year-old "mesaharati," or dawn caller, wakes people up for a meal before sunrise, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the Ard Besary district in Cairo, Egypt on Monday, June 12, 2017. Each night, Dalal, banging her decorated drum, chants traditional religious phrases and calls out to residents' children by name to wake them in time for the vital pre-dawn meal known as "suhour."(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Israel Eid al-Fitr

A Muslim boy cools off inside a fountain in a park next to the Mediterranean Sea during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 26, 2017. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Pakistan Eid

A Pakistani woman, with her hands decorated with traditional henna, prays during the Eid al-Fitr prayer that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, at the historic Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, June 26, 2017. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

USS George HW Bush At Sea

A sailor onboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier works out in the hangar of the ship on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, the giant aircraft carrier plays a vital role in the fight against the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Iraq Mosul

An Iraqi Special Forces soldier exchanges fire with Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

A bomb explodes behind the al-Nuri mosque complex, as seen through a hole in the wall of a house, as Iraqi Special Forces move toward Islamic State militant positions in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, June 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

Iraqi civilians flee through a destroyed alley as Iraqi Special Forces move toward Islamic State positions in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

An Iraqi Special Forces soldier takes position near the destroyed al-Hadba minaret as they fight Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

Aerial view of the destroyed al-Nuri mosque during fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, June 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

Iraqi civilians flee as Iraqi Special Forces move toward Islamic State militant positions in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, June 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

Iraqi civilians flee through a destroyed house as Iraqi Special Forces move toward Islamic State militant positions in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

A boy with a head injury is treated at a field clinic after fleeing fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Saturday, June 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

An Iraqi woman flees through a destroyed alley as Iraqi Special Forces move toward Islamic State militant positions in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

An Iraqi Special Forces soldier wears a gas mask after an alleged chemical attack during fighting against Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

A man suspected to be an Islamic State fighter sits after being detained by Iraqi special forces during conflicts near the old city of Mosul, Iraq, Saturday, June 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

The body of an alleged Islamic State militant lays on a bed in a destroyed house during fighting in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

An Iraqi soldier walks in a neighborhood recently retaken by Iraqi security forces during fighting against Islamic State militants in west Mosul, Iraq, Sunday, June 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq Mosul

Children play on debris in a neighborhood recently retaken by Iraqi security forces during fighting against Islamic State militants in west Mosul, Iraq, Sunday, June 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Israel Eid al-Fitr

Arab Israeli youths, from the Muslim scouts youth movement, march during a parade marking the end of the Holy month of Ramadan known as Eid al-Fitr, in the mixed Arab Jewish neighbourhood of Jaffa, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Iran Eid

Iranian worshippers perform Eid al-Fitr prayer marking the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Israel Gay Pride

A woman holds balloons as she participates in the first Gay Pride Parade in Beersheba, Israel, Thursday, June 22, 2017. Around 3500 people marched for the first time in the Gay Pride Parade in Beersheba. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Yemen Torture Sites

A former detainee shows how he was kept in handcuffs and leg shackles while held in a secret prison at Riyan airport in the Yemeni city of Mukalla in this May 11, 2017 photo. He covered his face for fear of being detained again. He and other former detainees say abuses are widespread in a network of secret prisons run by the United Arab Emirates and its Yemeni allies, into which hundreds detained in the hunt for al-Qaida militants have disappeared. (AP Photo/Maad El Zikry)

Palestinians Ramadan

Children rides an electronic toy car while touring on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the main beach road of Gaza City, Friday, June 23, 2017. Muslims across the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Iran

Iranians attend the funeral of victims of an Islamic State militant attack on Wednesday, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 9, 2017. Iranian leaders on Friday accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of supporting the Islamic State-claimed dual attacks that killed 17 people in Tehran this week, as thousands of Iranians attended a funeral ceremony for the victims. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Saudi Ramadan

A Muslim worshipper prays during Laylat al-Qadr, Night of Decree, on the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan as pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the minor pilgrimage, known as Umrah, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, early Thursday, June 22, 2017. Laylat al-Qadr, is the night Muslims commemorate the revelation of the first verses of the Quran to their Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Pakistan Daily Life

A Pakistani scavenger boy searches useful recycle stuff at an open sewer for his living, in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, June 30, 2017, (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

USS George HW Bush At Sea

Engineers take a rest inside the hangar of the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday, June 22, 2017. F18 fighter jets launch multiple times a day from the carrier bombing the Islamic State militant positions in Iraq and Syria. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Iran Ramadan

An Iranian Shiite Muslim prays in Laylat al-Qadr, or the night of destiny, during holy fasting month of Ramadan after midnight, in central Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Israel Palestinians

Diggers break the ground for a new settlement near the settlement of Shilo, West Bank, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said work had begun for the first new Israeli settlement in two decades, to replace Amona, a settlement outpost built on private Palestinian land that was dismantled in February following an Israeli Supreme Court ruling. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

Iran Israel Palestinians

A portrait of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu burned by Iranian demonstrators lies on the ground in their annual pro-Palestinian rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 23, 2017. Iran held rallies across the country, with protesters condemning Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and chanting "Death to Israel." (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Israel Gaza Electricity

Activists release paper lanterns in solidarity with Palestinians from Gaza, at the Ashkelon beach front, Israel, Monday, June 19, 2017. Israel's national electric company on Monday cut back its already limited electricity shipments to the Gaza Strip in a step that is expected to worsen the power crunch plaguing the Hamas-controlled seaside territory. The company confirmed that the Israeli government instructed it to reduce the power supply to Gaza at the request of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government in the West Bank. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Saudi Ramadan

Pilgrims pray near the Al-Safa mountain, at the Grand Mosque, during the minor pilgrimage known as Umrah, during Laylat al-Qadr, Night of Decree, on the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, early Thursday, June 22, 2017. Laylat al-Qadr, is the night Muslims commemorate the revelation of the first verses of the Quran to their Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

USS George HW Bush At Sea

In this Wednesday, June 21, 2017 photo, an engineer does maintenance on a fighter jet at nighttime inside the hangar of the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea. F18 fighter jets launch multiple times a day from the carrier bombing the Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pakistan Deadly Fire

People offer funeral prayers for the victims of Sunday's fuel tanker fire incident in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 27, 2017. Thousands of mourners in Pakistan have attended the collective funeral for 130 victims of a massive fuel tanker fire on a central highway earlier this week. (AP Photo/Iram Asim)

Afghanistan Eid

An Afghan boy ride on swing on the first day of Eid al-Fitr in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 25, 2017. The three-day holiday marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Pakistan

Pakistani investigators collect evidence from the site of a shooting incident in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, June 23, 2017. Gunmen in the port city of Karachi attacked police officers at a roadside restaurant and killed four of them before fleeing, according to senior police officer Asif Ahmed. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

Egypt Ramadan Dawn Caller

Dalal Abdel-Qader, known as Hajjah Dalal, a 43-year-old "mesaharati," or dawn caller, is surrounded by children as she wakes people up for a meal before sunrise, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the Ard Besary district in Cairo, Egypt on Monday, June 12, 2017.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

---

Maya Alleruzzo on Instagram

Follow AP photographers on Twitter

Written content on this site is not created by the editorial department of AP, unless otherwise noted.