Each month The Associated Press honors photographers for outstanding coverage while on assignment.

The winners for the December 2024 AP Photo Contest are Ethan Swope for News Photography Single Image, for his photo of firefighters battling the Franklin Fire in Malibu, California.

Hussein Malla for News Photography Story, for his coverage of the rebellion in Syria.

Adrienne Surprenant for Feature Photography Single Image, for her photo of a girl walking in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte.

Leo Correa for Feature Photography Story, for his story on the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria.

Matthias Schrader for Sports Photography Single Image, for his photo of Austrian Markus Mueller soaring through the air during his qualification jump at the first stage of the 73rd Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Germany.

Congratulations to all the photographers for their outstanding work. This month’s winning images judged by Photo Editor Anne-Marie Belgrave are featured below.

News Photography Single Image | Ethan Swope

California Wildfires

Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, California, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

News Photography Story | Hussein Malla

Syria

An opposition fighter steps on a broken bust of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 8, 2024.

On 27 November 2024, a coalition of opposition groups called the Military Operations Command, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, launched a major offensive against the Syrian Army and other pro-government forces in Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Homs Governorates. This was followed by other rebel offensives from the Southern Operations Room, the SDF and the Syrian Free Army which all began seizing Syrian government territory in the country's south and east. On 29 November, rebel forces entered Aleppo as Syrian Army positions collapsed across the country. On 7 December, rebel forces entered Damascus and the next day, on 8 December, Bashar al-Assad was reported to have fled the capital. The Syrian Army confirmed Assad was no longer in power and had fled the country, resulting in the collapse of his regime and ending over 60 years of Ba'athist rule under the Assad dynasty.

Syria

People walks through a corridor of the infamous Saydnaya military prison, just north of Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024.

Syria

A rope lies on the floor in the infamous Saydnaya military prison, just north of Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024.

Syria

A torn posters shows the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad, that were set at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Syria

Men examine bodies as they search for missing people at the morgue of Al-Mojtahed Hospital in Damascus, Syria, on, Dec. 11, 2024.

Syria

A girl selling flowers hands one to a Syrian fighter in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 23, 2024.

Syria

A Syrian man waves a white flag as he approaches Israeli soldiers where they have set up their new position on an abandoned Syrian military base, in Maariyah, near the border with Israel in southern Syria, Dec. 19, 2024.

Syria

A Syrian fighter from rebel group, fires towards a poster at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, which pictures the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ouster Syrian president Bashar Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 14, 2024.

Syria

People search for belongings in the ransacked private residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Malkeh district of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 8, 2024.

Syria

A Palestinian girl plays between buildings which were not only destroyed during the civil war were also demolished by the government or stripped by thieves, at the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, outside Damascus, Syria, Dec. 14, 2024.

Syria

Hilala Meryeh, a 64-year-old Palestinian mother of four, weeps in the middle of an identification room after finding her son's body at the Al-Mojtahed Hospital morgue in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 11, 2024.

Syria

An aerial view of remaining buildings that were not only destroyed during the civil war, but also also demolished by the government or stripped by thieves, at the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, outside Damascus, Syria, Dec. 14, 2024.

Feature Photography Single Image | Adrienne Surprenant

Cyclone Chido

A girl walks in the Kaweni area after Cyclone Chido tore through Mamoudzou on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

Feature Photography Story | Leo Correa

Prison of Horrors

Razor and barbed wires line a wall at the infamous Saydnaya military prison, dubbed “The Slaughterhouse,” on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024.

The sprawling complex has become synonymous with some of the worst atrocities committed under the rule of now ousted President Bashar Assad.

Prison of Horrors

Names of people and places in Arabic are written on walls inside a cell of the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 19, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

A painting of a skull covers a cell in the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

A rope tied in the shape of noose lies on the floor of a room at the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

Prothetic legs lay on the ground in a hallway of the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

The setting sun casts a warm glow through the windows as people walk through the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Dec. 18, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

Plastic bags containing olives hang over a damaged sink in a cell of the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

Clothes, underwear and shoes fill a room in the basement of the infamous Saydnaya military prison, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 19, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

Sunlight reaches a corridor of cells in the basement of the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 19, 2024.

Prison of Horrors

An official flag of the ousted Syrian government is painted on a wall of the infamous Saydnaya military prison, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 19, 2024.

Sports Photography Single Image | Matthias Schrader

Four Hills Ski Jumping

Markus Mueller, of Austria, soars through the air during his qualification jump at the first stage of the 73rd Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Oberstdorf, Germany, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Lead photo: Arabic names of people and places cover the inside of a cell at the Saydnaya military prison, dubbed “The Slaughterhouse,” on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)