![A fishing boat floats on the shores of the manmade Lake Razzaza, west of the Shiite Muslim holy city of Karbala, around 120 kilometres south of Baghdad, on May 20, 2013. For the past two weeks, most of fishermen who rely on their trade to make a living, have stopped sailing on the lake fearing that they might by targeted by gunmen coming from the mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar province where security has deteriorated. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/05/GettyImages-169170418.jpg/GettyImages-169170418.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=WpnDbbRy)
Wassim Bassem is an Iraqi journalist who tracks social phenomena in investigations and reports for various media outlets, including Al-Esbuyia, Bab Nour and Elaph.
![A fishing boat floats on the shores of the manmade Lake Razzaza, west of the Shiite Muslim holy city of Karbala, around 120 kilometres south of Baghdad, on May 20, 2013. For the past two weeks, most of fishermen who rely on their trade to make a living, have stopped sailing on the lake fearing that they might by targeted by gunmen coming from the mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar province where security has deteriorated. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/05/GettyImages-169170418.jpg/GettyImages-169170418.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=WpnDbbRy)
![Iraqi children gather around what is believed to be Adam's tree in the
Garden of Eden in Al Qurna, Iraq, May 19, 2003. Eden, at the confluence
of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, known as the cradle of mankind,
is now a ruined home to the dead Adam's tree which was cultivated by Al
Qurna's elders for centuries at this location. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
DS - RP3DRILTDYAA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/04/RTRNU0Q.jpg/RTRNU0Q.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=3H2v0xl6)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![Participants attend a round table with international delegations at a conference to discuss ways of cutting funding to groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda, at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris, France, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool - RC1775AF2BE0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/04/RTX5YJT0.jpg/RTX5YJT0.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=sNyeQm-Y)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![Iraqis hold guns as they hunt at in the Chibayish marshes near the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriyah on September 13, 2016.
UNESCO has named Iraqi marshlands once ravaged by dictator Saddam Hussein as a World Heritage Site, a bright spot for a country where jihadists have repeatedly sought to wipe out history.
/ AFP / Haidar HAMDANI (Photo credit should read HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/04/GettyImages-605466204.jpg/GettyImages-605466204.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=PQ22RAay)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![RTR2VHHJ.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/03/RTR2VHHJ.jpg/RTR2VHHJ.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=yaRCgQ35)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![Iraq_Gazelle.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/02/Iraq_Gazelle.jpg/Iraq_Gazelle.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=1Gt1uJAO)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![A military vehicle of Iraqi security forces is seen at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Kirkuk, Iraq November 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC16C3294970](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/01/RTS1IJB7.jpg/RTS1IJB7.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=DsVPUW6P)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![A falcon perches on a Bedouin hunter's arm during a hunt in a desert south of Samawa, 270 km (160 miles) south of Baghdad November 30, 2007. Picture taken November 30, 2007. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ) - GM1DWSRKRDAA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/11-1/RTX4CIH.jpg/RTX4CIH.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=wOpSWH4F)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![GettyImages-868127362.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/11-1/GettyImages-868127362.jpg/GettyImages-868127362.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=6mNQh-Q3)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![Magic_iraq.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/10-1/Magic_iraq.jpg/Magic_iraq.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=uG10euah)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![GettyImages-530040006.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/09/GettyImages-530040006.jpg/GettyImages-530040006.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=Jgl3cDW2)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem
![Iraqi_Folk_Dancers.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/09/Iraqi_Folk_Dancers.jpg/Iraqi_Folk_Dancers.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=qvOdiyYe)
![Wassim Bassem](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/waseem-basim.jpeg/waseem-basim.jpeg?h=55541bb6&itok=eYJY5kyA)
Wassim Bassem