A U.N. team leaves its Damascus, Syria, hotel in a convoy on Monday, August 26. The team was to investigate an alleged chemical attack that killed hundreds last week in a suburb of the Syrian capital. Sniper fire hit a vehicle used by the U.N. chemical weapons investigation team multiple times Monday, according to the United Nations. Tensions in Syria began to flare in March 2011 and have escalated into an ongoing civil war. Click through to view the most compelling images taken since the start of the conflict.