Muslims pray at the top of Mount Al-Noor during their Umrah Mawlid al-Nabawi “Birthday of Prophet Mohammad” in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia January 16, 2016. Muslims believe Prophet Mohammad received the first words of the Koran through Gabriel, at the top of Mount Al-Noor in the holy city of Mecca. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)
Iraqi army soldiers attempt to move their truck stuck in the mud near the village of Al-Boutha al-Sharqiyah, west of Mosul, on December 2, 2016, during a broad offencive by Iraq forces to retake the main hub city from Islamic State group jihadists. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)
Members of the Al-Baraa bin Malek batallion, part of the Free Syria Army's Al-Fatah brigade, duck to the ground as they pull a man (R) who was shot by a sniper twice in the Bustan al-Basha district of the northern city of Aleppo on October 20, 2012. (Photo by Javier Manzano/AFP Photo)
A Syrian man sells vegetables in front of a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, ousting president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP Photo)
A fan of Japan reacts after Crotia winning the penalty shoot out during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between Japan and Croatia at Al Janoub Stadium on December 5, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar. (Photo by John Sibley/Reuters)