Self-portrait © Yuri Kozyrev

Yuri Kozyrev's intimate and uncensored images of the American-led occupation of Iraq represent one of the most important photojournalistic records of the war. As an embedded reporter working for TIME, he has visited Iraq on nine occasions since September, 2002—an almost unimaginable feat given the perils of his assignments and the emotional strain inherent in witnessing the events of war firsthand. Emphasizing the look of war from the perspective of the Iraqis, Kozyrev's pictures have brought the reality of warfare to a broad international audience.

In addition to being shown in the pages of numerous magazines and newspapers, Kozyrev's photographs were included in TIME 's 2003 photo-essay "21 Days to Baghdad," which also featured work by James Nachtwey and Christopher Morris, among others.

Born in Russia in 1963, Kozyrev earned a degree in journalism from Moscow State University and began his photographic career in the mid-1980s covering regional conflicts in Chechnya, Moldova, and other Soviet territories.

Kozyrev, currently based in Moscow, has won numerous prizes during his eighteen-year career, including first place in General News in the 2004 World Press Photo Contest for a story entitled "Ali Ismail Abbas, Who Lost Both Arms after Coalition Bombing in Iraq"; third place in The National Press Photographers Association's 2004 "Magazine Photographer of the Year" contest; and honorable mention for the 2003 UNICEF Photo of the Year. He has also contributed freelance work to the Los Angeles Times and the Times of London.

An Iraqi woman protects her children from the sound and shock of an explosion as U.S. marines search houses for insurgents. Husaybah, November 5, 2005 © Yuri Kozyrev for TIME