When one thinks of the Middle East right now, images of softness and tranquility are often the last things to come to mind–if they do at all. And yet, all soldiers must put down their weapons at some point, as seen in this photo of a Syrian peshmerga fighter taking a moment to bond with a rabbit.

Since ISIS invaded Iraqi Kurdistan in August 2014, peshmerga–or Iraqi Kurdistan’s military–have gone to war against them in both Iraq and Syria. With the aid of US and Iraqi air strikes, the peshmerga were successful in overrunning ISIS militants and reclaiming critical infrastructure in Mosul.

Other Kurdish forces from surrounding areas have since joined, and as of February 2015 over 1,000 peshmerga soldiers have died amid the fighting.

Want to learn more about ISIS and Iraq? Check out our gallery on life under ISIS as well as vintage Baghdad.

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