The fight for normality: Mosul residents live their lives amid ruined buildings as armoured vehicles drive through walls and Iraqi forces push ISIS out of the city

  • Thousands have fled to camps outside Iraq’s second city as the battle intensifies against ISIS militants
  • Mosul is Islamic State’s last remaining major stronghold in Iraq, having been under its control since 2014
  • Around 255,000 people have fled Mosul to camps since October, with numbers rising over the last week
  • The refugees have tried to maintain a sense of normality in the camps, where they can receive shelter and aid
  • Human Rights Watch said battle to retake West Mosul has been ‘dirtier and deadlier’ than fight for East Mosul
  • ISIS tactics include car bombs, snipers, indiscriminate shooting and taking cover in residential areas

By SHARI MILLER FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 12:05 GMT, 19 March 2017 |

Fleeing for their lives, thousands of displaced civilians from Mosul have been forced to find shelter in camps outside the city, as US-backed Iraqi forces intensify their battle against Islamic State militants.

But amid the rubble and chaos, young and old remain resolute as they try to maintain a sense of normality and adjust to a life unfamiliar to them.

Here in the camps, they receive food, shelter, blankets, foam mattresses and medical aid. Away from the fighting, they can at least attend to matters of personal hygiene, from bathing, to shaving and haircuts, while parents can keep their children warm and fed, knowing they are at least safer here than in Iraq‘s second largest city and Islamic State’s last remaining stronghold.

Fleeing for their lives: Thousands have left their homes in Mosul and headed for camps outside the city, as fighting intensifies

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Fleeing for their lives: Thousands have left their homes in Mosul and headed for camps outside the city, as fighting intensifies

An Iraqi soldier lends a hand to a young child arriving on an army truck, one of thousands arriving at camps from Mosul

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An Iraqi soldier lends a hand to a young child arriving on an army truck, one of thousands arriving at camps from Mosul

Time out: Displaced refugees take their minds off war as they bathe in a pool of mineral water traditionally used for healing

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Time out: Displaced refugees take their minds off war as they bathe in a pool of mineral water traditionally used for healing

Getting on with life: Men wash and bathe in pools of mineral water at Hammam al-Aleel, around 13km south of Mosul

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Getting on with life: Men wash and bathe in pools of mineral water at Hammam al-Aleel, around 13km south of Mosul

Personal attention: After walking miles to reach the refugee camp, one displaced man helps another tidy his appearance

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Personal attention: After walking miles to reach the refugee camp, one displaced man helps another tidy his appearance

A displaced man shaves a fellow refugee as they attempt a sense of normalcy in the face of difficult living conditions

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A displaced man shaves a fellow refugee as they attempt a sense of normalcy in the face of difficult living conditions

A young boy has his hair cut, another example the refugees' determination to carry on with everyday life within the camps

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A young boy has his hair cut, another example the refugees’ determination to carry on with everyday life within the camps

About 255,000 people have fled Mosul and surrounding areas since October, including more than 100,000 since the military campaign in western Mosul began on February 19, according to United Nations figures.

The last week has seen the highest level of displacement yet, with 32,000 people forced out of their homes between March 12 and 15.

Many walk for miles, holding all the possessions they can carry, before being transported by trucks to the camps located outside the city.

But many hundreds of thousands more are still within the danger zone. At the time of the latest push to recapture west Mosul, the area had around 750,000 residents.