Moshtarek: Marjah, Afghanistan

• Prize
• Photographer
  Bryan Denton, Lebanon
• Date of Photograph
  online
• Website
  http://www.bryandenton.com

In February 2010, US Marines and Afghan Security Forces began Operation Moshtarekâ??assaulting the rural city of Marjah in Helmand Province in the largest operation since the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan. Marjah, thought to be the Taliban's last major stronghold in Helmand province up until that point, remains restive months after combat operations in the city were officially concluded, and residents remain skeptical as to whether or not NATO and Afghan Security forces will be able to provide the jobs and security they promised. Reports of Taliban returning to the city, or in some cases, never leavingâ??putting down their guns only to pick them up months later, have also surfaced, indicating that the battle for Marjah, considered crucial to NATO's war in Afghanistan, is far from over.

• Biography
  Bryan Denton is a freelance photojournalist based in Beirut, Lebanon. He began his career covering news, conflict and social issues after graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, focusing on photography and Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. Bryan's work has been featured on the pages of TIME, Newsweek, GQ, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, Der Spiegel, The National, Pelerin, Courrier International, The Globe and Mail, and The New Republic and he has recently completed assignments in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and Haiti.