Smoke rises from buildings in May after shelling on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which is currently held by anti-government fighters. Rights workers say civilians are being killed by government attacks with so-called barrel bombs. Sadam el-Mehmedy/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

People walk by a damaged police station in Mosul on July 15. The militants of the Islamic State are in control of the key city and have acted against former members of Saddam Hussein's regime who helped them drive out the Iraqi army last month. AP hide caption

Thousands of Iraqis fleeing Sunni extremists fled to the Kurdish city of Erbil, where they lined up here on June 12 at a checkpoint before entering. EPA /LANDOV hide caption

Egyptians gather at a petrol station in Cairo as the government drastically raised fuel prices to tackle a bloated subsidy system on July 5. Mahmoud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Libya's Gen. Khalifa Hifter speaks at a news conference in Abyar, a small town to the east of Benghazi, on May 31. Hifter, a former military officer in Moammar Gadhafi's army, has has launched a self-declared campaign against Muslim extremists. This has won him both supporters and enemies. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters/Landov hide caption

Kurdish peshmerga forces look at a checkpoint held by militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Iraq's second city, Mosul, on Monday. Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Iraqis attend Mass at the Chaldean Church of the Virgin Mary of the Harvest, in Al-Qosh on June 15. Both Christians and Muslims fleeing the ISIS takeover of Mosul in northern Iraq have taken refuge in Al-Qosh, an ancient Christian village. AP hide caption