Desert Storm Begins by Magnum Photographers Operation Desert Storm began this week in 1991.

Here is an extensive look back at the lead-up to the war and the conflict's first days.

KUWAIT A torn poster of Saddam Hussein in front of burning oil fields, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT CITY The city in broad daylight, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT U.S. Marines at the Burgan oil fields, 1991. Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos

SAFWAN, Iraq Saudi soldiers distribute food, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

SAFWAN, Iraq A U.S. soldier in front of burning oil wells, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT A U.S. Marine walks by Iraqi Republican Guard corpses and a wrecked Iraqi military convoy, 1991. Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos

SAFWAN, Iraq A U.S. soldier with portraits of Saddam Hussein found in a school, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT A U.S. Marine stands in front of burned airplanes at an airport, 1991. Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos Interactive Essays

KUWAIT CITY A column of Iraqi military units was trapped as it tried to retreat back to Iraq, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

IRAQ A young girl is treated at tents set up by the U.S. military to attend to wounded and sick Iraqi civilians, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

TAMPA, Fla. A pro-Gulf War demonstration, 1990. Carl De Keyzer / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT Wrecked vehicles and burning wells in an oil field near the Iraqi border, 1991. Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT The Gulf War, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

SAUDI ARABIA An Egyptian soldier with a shoulder-held heat-seeking missile next to a cameraman, 1990. Abbas / Magnum Photos

IRAQ A U.S. officer directs an Iraqi woman to a medical tent while an American TV crew follows, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT CITY Correspondents covering the aftermath of the war listen to international radio services, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT CITY Kuwaitis celebrate the liberation of their city, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT A Kuwaiti woman photographs a U.S. soldier, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT U.S. Marines pose for a photo in the Burgan oil fields with a burned vehicle containing a charred corpse, 1991. Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT CITY At the Al-Sabah Hospital, the body of a Kuwaiti man shows signs of torture, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

WASHINGTON An anti-war demonstration, January 1991. Carl De Keyzer / Magnum Photos

WASHINGTON An anti-war demonstration, January 1991. Carl De Keyzer / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT CITY A U.S. military police officer, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT CITY An elephant shot by an Iraqi soldier fleeing the city, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT A Kuwaiti attempts to graze his herds on oil-polluted plains, 1991. Steve McCurry / Magnum Photos

SAUDI ARABIA A bird after an oil spill off the coast, 1991. Steve McCurry / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT The aftermath of the war, 1991. Steve McCurry / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT U.S. Marines. The Burgan oil fields burn in the background, 1991. Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT U.S. soldiers surround destroyed Iraqi tanks in the Burgan oil fields, 1991. Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT A U.S. soldier, part of a column of U.S. and Egyptian troops withdrawing from Kuwait, headed to Saudi Arabia, 1991. Abbas / Magnum Photos

SAUDI ARABIA A member of the French Foreign Legion during antichemical exercises, 1990. Abbas / Magnum Photos

KUWAIT A Kuwaiti boy covered in black dust plays near an oil fire, 1991. Steve McCurry / Magnum Photos

NEW YORK A welcome-home parade for Gulf War soldiers, 1991. Eli Reed / Magnum Photos

NEW YORK A welcome-home parade for Gulf War soldiers, 1991. Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos

SAUDI ARABIA 1990. Abbas / Magnum Photos