The Ruins of Raqqa
The Syrian city recovering from the trauma of IS
For four long years Islamic State ruled its 'caliphate' from its capital, the city of Raqqa. IS propaganda painted it as paradise. From the outside, there were only glimpses of what life was really like. Now freed from IS control, survivors emerge from the rubble of a city utterly destroyed by US-led bombing, reflecting on the risks they took to defy their occupiers and facing up to a long and difficult recovery.