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AFGHANISTAN / the forgotten war

An Afghan police patrol in Helmand province.

Dust and debris shower a soldier as he carries a comrade injured during a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Kunduz.

Medical staff carry a militia fighter injured by a car bomb in Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Afghan troops set up a command post during an operation in Kunduz.

An Afghan commander examines his armored fighting vehicle that was damaged by a Taliban rocket in Kunduz.

An Afghan girl watches American soldiers unpack gear during a patrol in her village in Kandahar province.

A military doctor examines a soldier who lost his leg in a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan.

An American soldier stands in front of a bulldozer used to clear roadside bombs during a patrol.

Afghan soldiers interrogate a man detained during an operation against the Taliban.

Afghan special forces commandos practice clearing rooms at a training base outside Kabul

An injured Afghan army soldier awaits evacuation at a field hospital in Nangarhar province.

An Afghan soldier guards the gate of a former American base at Masum Ghar in southern Afghanistan.

Afghan recruits eat lunch during training

Army cooks prepare rice at a field camp during an operation in Nangarhar province.

Military doctors in Kandahar prepare to operate on an Afghan soldier injured by a roadside bomb.

Afghan recruits stand at attention during a training course

An Afghan soldier carries a shoulder-fired rocket launcher during a firefight in Kunduz.

Government troops run for position during a firefight with Taliban gunmen in Kunduz city.

Afghan special forces commandos practice clearing rooms at a training base outside Kabul

Troops at a base in Masar-e-Sharif carry the body of a soldier killed during fighting.

Afghan soldiers prepare to escort a supply convoy into Taliban territory.

An American soldier watches a man pass through a checkpoint in Kandahar province.

Women recruits train at a base outside Kabul.

American soldiers patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Afghan soldiers take their dinner of beans and bread at a base in Laghman province.

An Afghan soldier scans the landscape from the back of a truck in a convoy.

An Afghan soldier fires a rocket-propelled grenade at Taliban positions during the battle to retake Kunduz city.

Afghan army troops patrol in the "birthplace of the Taliban" in Kandahar province.

Afghan troops fire on insurgent positions in Kunduz city.

Afghan soldiers fire on Islamic State positions in Nangarhar province.

An Afghan soldier examines a target at a rifle range in Kunar Province.

Afghan army soldiers escort a supply convoy during an operation into Taliban territory.

Afghan soldiers observe Taliban positions during a battle in Kunduz city.

Coalition soldiers salute during a commemoration ceremony in Kabul.

American soldiers climb a hill during a patrol in Kandahar province.

American troops and Afghan security forces climb into trucks during an operation in Khost province.

An Afghan soldier rides in the back of a truck during an operation in Taliban territory.

American soldiers and attack helicopters search for insurgents who had fired on the troops moments earlier during a patrol in Kandahar.

American soldiers secure a ridge line during an operation in Khost Province.

Afghan special forces commandos practice clearing rooms at a training base outside Kabul

U.S. soldiers return from a night patrol.

Lt. Dur Mohammed, who oversees his battalion’s maintenance, sits in the turret of one of the Afghan army's last Soviet tanks.

An Afghan boy waves to a passing convoy of American Stryker vehicles during a patrol in the volatile Panjwai district in southern Afghanistan.

American soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division climb a waterfall during a patrol in Khost province.

An American soldier prepares to leave on a night operation.

Afghan troops assemble during a training day in Kunar province.

Soldiers drive one of the Afghan army's last remaining Soviet-era tanks.

An American soldier takes up position on a ridge in Kandahar.

Afghan army recruits stand in formation during training

American military vehicles are staged at Kandahar Air Field in preparation for shipping them home.

NORTH KOREA / the supreme leader's parade

IRAQ / militias against the islamic state

AFGHANISTAN / the air war

Afghan Air Force helicopters land at a base in northern Afghanistan.

An American F-16 fighter pilot, call sign "Chunk," prepares for a combat mission in Afghanistan.

Afghan National Army soldiers sit around a wounded comrade as they are evacuated from Uruzgan province aboard an Afghan Air Force Mi-17 helicopter.

A mechanic works on the cockpit of an F-16 fighter aircraft at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.

An American MQ-9 Reaper drone sits at Kandahar Airfield.

A U.S. Air Force sensor operator helps guide a drone.

Men stranded by an avalanche wave to an Afghan air force helicopter delivering supplies.

Pilots prepare a C-130 transport aircraft for a mission.

Maintenance crews work after dark to prepare an F-16 Fighting Falcon for a combat mission at Bagram Air Field.

Fighter pilots' gear and personal belongings sit in lockers at Bagram Air Field.

U.S. Army helicopters fly over Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan in early 2013.

An MQ-9 Reaper drone taxis at Kandahar Airfield.

Afghan Air Force helicopters sit at Kandahar Airfield.

Men load emergency supplies for avalanche victims onto an Afghan Air Force Mi-17 helicopter in Panjshir Valley.

Pilots prepare for a nighttime airdrop mission aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130 transport aircraft at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

A U.S. Army crew chief scans for threats from the door of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter over Kandahar.

An American F-16 fighter aircraft sits in a hanger at Bagram Air Field.

American helicopters sit at a base in Kandahar province.

Mechanics work on the missile launch mechanism on an F-16 fighter aircraft.

A U.S. Air Force airman looks out the window of a Black Hawk helicopter in southern Afghanistan.

An Afghan air force crew chief mans a machine gun in the door of a Mi-17 helicopter over Uruzgan province.

Czech mechanics work on an Afghan air force Mi-35 gunship in Kabul.

Ground crew work on an MQ-9 Reaper drone.

An Afghan air force crew chief mans a machine gun during a mission to resupply victims of an avalanche in Panjshir.

A crew chief helps a pilot prepare for a mission in an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

A technician performs avionics maintenance on an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

A U.S. Air Force adviser provides security on the rear ramp of an Afghan air force Mi-17 helicopter.

An ambulance driver watches a helicopter arrive with new casualties at a base in northern Afghanistan.

HONG KONG / street protests

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AFGHANISTAN / ashoura

IRAQ / an army in training

An Iraqi soldier runs during a combat exercise led by American military advisers.

An instructor teaches a volunteer militia fighter how to use a rocket propelled grenade launcher at a training camp in Kurdistan.

Iraqi army soldiers run to take positions during an exercise at a training camp south of Baghdad.

An Iraqi air force Mi-28 attack helicopter fires rockets at a target south of Baghdad.

Iraqi army soldiers practice clearing a house during American-led training at a camp south of Baghdad.

A U.S. Army soldier works out in a gym at a Besmaya Combat Training Center south of Baghdad.

An Iraqi army soldier fires his Kalashnikov rifle during a training exercise.

An Iraqi air force Mi-28 attack helicopter circles ground forces during a combined exercise.

U.S. Army advisers run from fires set during a combat training exercise with Iraqi troops near Baghdad.

Iraqi army engineers use explosives to blow a hole in concrete blast walls during a combat exercise.

NORTH KOREA / return of the mass games

AFGHANISTAN / buzkashi

SOUTH KOREA / military drills

5

NORTH KOREA / torchlight parade

AFGHANISTAN / in the shadow of conflict

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah casts his vote during the first round of the 2014 elections.

A shopkeeper looks out the window of his shop, shattered during a deadly suicide attack on a government bus in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Baseera Sultani, a pregnant mother of one, had just fed her baby when her house collapsed from a massive truck bomb explosion in Kabul.

Residents of Kabul light candles that spell out the word "peace" at a vigil for victims of insurgent attacks.

A boy covers his mouth and nose as workers remove the body of a Taliban insurgent killed by Afghan security forces during an attack on the Kabul airport.

An activist hangs a sign on the ruins of a building destroyed by a truck bomb in Kabul.

An Afghan woman holds her child in the halls of a mosque in Herat, in western Afghanistan.

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Fighters compete in a mixed martial arts match in Kabul

A man sells balloons in downtown Kabul.

Kabul residents dig through the rubble of their house seeking victims and possessions after a deadly truck bomb attack.

Men pray during Ramadan at Jama Masjid in Herat, Afghanistan.

A young man looks out at the devastation from a truck bomb in Kabul.

A police officer gestures as he oversees the removal of the bodies of Taliban fighters killed during an attack in Kabul.

A mixed martial arts fighter celebrates after winning a match

A poll worker guards a ballot box during the first round of Afghanistan's 2014 presidential election.

A member of an elite Afghan police unit secures the scene of a suicide bombing in Kabul.

Refugees flee fighting in Helmand province.

Residents pick through the remains of shops destroyed by a truck bomb in Kabul.

Two women walk in the streets of Lashkar Gah, Helmand province.

A guard points out the remains of Darul Aman Palace in Kabul.

Afghan police examine the remains of a Taliban insurgent killed during an attack on Kabul's international airport.

A gunmaker holds a replica musket in his shop in Kabul.

Afghan boys play in a swimming pool, seeking relief from sweltering summer heat in western Afghanistan.

Thousands of supporters of presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah march during a rally in Panjshir province, Afghanistan.

Police, media, and onlookers step over the bodies of Taliban militants killed in a gun battle in Kabul.

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah waves to supporters as he arrives at a rally in Panjshir province.

Afghan women line up to vote in Kabul during the first round of the 2014 presidential election.

A man holds his registration card as he waits to vote in the 2014 presidential election.

A young boy waits in a market in Kandahar province.

Police stand by a cordon outside the scene of a suicide bombing in Kabul.

A boy walks through an intersection in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province.

NORTH KOREA / pyongyang

IRAQ / life goes on

An Iraqi man smokes a water pipe at a cafe in downtown Baghdad.

Men play dominoes under a painting of Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum in a cafe in Baghdad.

A man gets his hair cut in a Baghdad barbershop.

Shoppers relax at a cafe inside a mall in Baghdad

A woman carries her child while shopping in the book market.

Men prepare traditional flat bread at a roadside bakery.

Women wave flags as they walk during a pilgrimage from Baghdad to Samarra.

A street vendor cooks falafel.

An antiques dealer examines old coins at his shop in old town Baghdad.

Young women look at window displays at a mall in Baghdad.

RUSSIA AND KYRGYZSTAN /

All photos by Josh Smith

unless otherwise noted

© Copyright Josh Smith
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