Friday, May 06, 2016

Ramadi in Ruins


In its recent history the Iraqi city of Ramadi has been occupied by the American military during the Iraq war, invaded by ISIL after the withdrawal of US and coalition forces, and then recaptured by Iraqi government forces with the help of US and coalition air strikes.

The result of all these 'liberations' has come at the cost of the city's devastation . Over 3,000 buildings and nearly 400 roads and bridges in the city have been destroyed. Hundreds of civilians have also lost their lives.

Associated Press has used satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe and photographs taken on the ground to map the destruction of Ramadi, largely as a result of ISIL sabotage but also from Iraqi and coalition air strikes.

Ramadi in Ruins includes an interactive map which allows you to view DigitalGlobe satellite imagery of the destruction in Ramadi. The map includes hundreds of markers showing the locations of damaged buildings, roads and bridges in the city. If you select a marker on the map you can view the DigitalGlobe satellite imagery of the destruction on the ground.

Ramadi in Ruins also contains a number of before and after satellite images of some of the significant damaged buildings. These before and after images allow you to swipe back and forth between satellite images taken before and after the ISIL devastation of the city.

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