October 26th, 2016 | Updated on January 13th, 2023
Fresh images from Iraq show the innocence of youth. Images show dirty children playing in the streets as black smoke from burning oil wells rises into the sky. Women and children are seen congregated near Al-Qayyarah, which was liberated this week by Iraqi government forces, as thick, acrid smoke fills the horizon. Some of the children can be seen celebrating after forces freed their village from the control of ISIS.
1. A boy covered in dirt plays in the street in Al-Qayyarah, near Mosul, as smoke rises from oil wells, which were set on fire by ISIS.
2. Children play in the streets as flames and smoke rise from oil wells.
3. Boys make victory signs in the streets of Al-qayyarah, a town which has just been liberated from ISIS.
4. A girl, her hand blackened from the smoke, stares straight into the camera
5. Firefighters attempt to put out one of the oil well fires which were lit by retreating ISIS fighters
6. Firefighters and oil workers try to dowse the huge fires started by ISIS
7. A girl covers her face with her dirty hands as her little brother looks into the distance.
8. An Iraqi woman and her two young children are escorted to safety by an Iraqi soldier.
9. A bed lies abandoned in the wilderness near Al-qayyarah as smoke from the oil well fires billows into the sky
10. Scores of Iraqi families gathering on a roadside after being driven out of their homes.
11. This child looks up to the sky
12. A mother holds her child after being displaced from their home by the ongoing operation by allied forces against the Jihadis.
13. This young child grips an adults bag as she looks on into the distance.
14. Women and children are seen gathering on a roadside near the Al-qayyarah area.
15. The UN refugee agency is preparing to receive 150,000 people who fleeing the conflict.
16. The crowd waits by the roadside as they wait for the fighting to finish, as they have nowhere else to go.
17. Many can be seen looking on with fear and uncertainty in their eyes as they await the outcome of the fighting.
18. This group of men hold onto a railing as the clouds of smoke rise above them.
19. A young child hides behind an adult as the group prepare themselves for what could be a long wait.
20. The group a supervised by a member of the Iraqi army, who are currently fighting ISIS in Mosul
21. Federal forces have taken dozens of small villages south of Mosul and are working their way up the Tigris valley.
22. A girl wipes away tears as other children look extremely distressed as they sit on the floor.
23. A group of Iraqi girls gather around to give the victory sign after the village was liberated by Iraqi forces from ISIS
24. Youngsters in the village of Al-Khuwayn, south of Mosul couldn’t contain their excitement after the terror group were driven out as coalition forces advance on the city
25. Iraqi forces hand out fruit to children who clamber around their vehicle as they celebrate no longer having to live under ISIS rule
26. Iraqi government forces raise their national flag as they enter the village of Al-Khuwayn, south of Mosul.
27. In other parts of Mosul, women and children were seen fleeing the city and heading towards the Syrian border.
28. An Iraqi refugee woman who fled Mosul walks with her child as they wait to enter Syria in the desert area of Rajam Al-Saliba
29. A refugee toddler cries as she and another child head towards the Syrian border after fleeing the battle for Mosul.
30. Iraqi children were pictured carrying blankets and pillows after they had fled Mosul and were heading towards refugee camps.
31. A child plays at a camp for displaced families in Dibaga, near Mosul.
32. A young boy carries bedding on top of his head as he walks around a camp for displaced families on the outskirts of Mosul.
