Inside a Camp for Iraqis Fleeing ISIS

Share:

August 8, 2014

The U.S. military acknowledged today that it had begun bombing ISIS, the Islamic militant group, in an effort to stave off its encroachment into northern Iraq.

FRONTLINE producer Martin Smith just returned from a trip near Mosul, about 20 miles from where American warplanes targeted ISIS positions earlier today. There, Smith visited a U.N.-run camp for displaced Iraqis who had fled the city as the militants moved in. Taxi drivers, tailors, construction workers, who huddled in sweltering tents, told stories of the brutality of ISIS. They had nowhere else to go. And their only defense: a large trench dug around the camp.

Smith, now back in Baghdad, spoke to Marco Werman at PRI’s The World this afternoon about what he’s seeing on the ground. Listen to the interview below:

FRONTLINE producer Martin Smith (Gangs of IraqPrivate WarriorsBeyond BaghdadTruth War and Consequences) is in Baghdad, working on a film about Iraq’s current crisis with cameraman Scott Anger and second camera/soundwoman Sachi Cunningham. Read Smith’s dispatches on his return to Baghdad and the city’s checkpoint problem.


Sarah Childress

Sarah Childress, Former Series Senior Editor, FRONTLINE

More Stories

Coming This Fall on FRONTLINE
Plus: How you can support our journalism at a critical time for public media. Read a message from FRONTLINE Editor-in-Chief & Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath.
October 1, 2025
What the O.J. Verdict & Its Aftermath Revealed About Race in America
On the 30th anniversary of a verdict that shook the U.S., revisit a seminal FRONTLINE documentary on the stark truths and lasting impact of the O.J. Simpson trial, now streaming on YouTube for the first time.
October 1, 2025
Exclusive: Iran Won't Allow Nuclear Inspections if Sanctions Are Reimposed, Says Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator
In an exclusive interview with FRONTLINE, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator said the country will end its participation in international weapons inspections if sanctions are reimposed.
September 26, 2025