US troops came home feeling 'cursed' and seeing ghosts after intense artillery battles with the Islamic State

• US soldiers who took part in the fight against ISIS are now struggling with their mental health.
• The New York Times reported that some troops returned seeing ghosts and feeling "cursed."
• The Times pointed to the soldiers' own intense artillery fire as a possible cause.

When the United States intervened in Iraq and Syria to destroy the Islamic State, it relied on local militias to do most of the actual on-the-ground fighting, largely sparing US soldiers from the worst of it.