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Mosul: One year on

After ISIL, a city still in ruins.

Picture 1 A mother and her daughter walk back to their neighbourhood in West Mosul. Destruction this area is everywhere. Rubbles and explosive remnants litter the streets and crumbled houses. Photo:
A mother and her daughter walk home in west Mosul. Destruction here is everywhere, with rubble from explosions littering the streets overlooked by crumbling houses. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
By Tom Peyre-Costa
Published On 6 Jul 2018

More than 380,000 people are still displaced in and around Mosul as the city lies in ruins, one year after it was retaken from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

What was hailed by the Iraqi authorities and the international community as a victory has not translated to relief from misery for many Iraqis in the city.  

The level of destruction in Mosul is considered the worst in Iraq, with a staggering eight million tonnes of debris.

On the western side of town, few buildings emerged unscathed. Around 90 percent of western Mosul is still devastated, with 62 schools destroyed and 207 damaged.

Some 54,000 houses in Mosul and the surrounding areas have been destroyed, displacing the families who lived there.

Not all families were able to find shelter in camps, and one-third of those living outside of camps may face eviction because they cannot afford the rent.

There has been minimal international support for the displaced people of Iraq over the past year. 

An estimated $874m is needed to restore basic infrastructure in Mosul.

Picture 2 A child lays back against the wall of his house riddled with bullets. 3 years ago, Islamic State group took position of the neighbourhood. Kaiwan got his left arm burned while trying to flee
A child leans against the bullet-riddled wall of his house. Three years ago, ISIL took control of the neighbourhood and Kaiwan suffered burns to his left arm while fleeing with his family. The scars of conflict are still fresh on the child's body and the city's walls. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
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Picture 3 A car damaged by shrapnel and its owner. A shell hit Akram’s house during retaking operations one year ago. His car still bears the marks of the explosion. His car is miraculously still roll
Akram stands next to his car that was damaged by shrapnel. A shell hit Akram’s house during the retaking of Mosul a year ago. His car is miraculously still rolling but his house has been destroyed. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Picture 4 Mosul’s old city is a pile of rubble. The core of Iraq’s second largest city is still laced with debris and metal one year after the end of the fighting. 90 % of this area is destroyed and i
Mosul's old city is a pile of rubble, the core still laced with debris and metal one year after the fighting ended. About 90 percent of this area is destroyed and it will take at least 10 years to rebuild. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Picture 5 Children walk by the remains of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq. Built in 1172–1173,the mosque was destroyed by the Islamic State group on 21 June 2017. This historical mosque was
Children walk by the remains of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq. Built in 1172–1173, the mosque was destroyed by ISIL on June 21, 2017. This historical mosque was famous for its leaning minaret, known as al-Hadba, which was also destroyed. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Picture 6 A resident of Mosul shows an old picture of the minaret of al-Nuri mosque. The leaning minaret was famous for its unique inclination. It was destroyed at the same time as the Great Mosque o
A resident of Mosul shows an old picture of the minaret of al-Nuri mosque. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Photo 8 The remains of a truck in front of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri. The shape of the truck on the bullet impacts on it illustrates the intensity of the fighting that took place in that area one y
The remains of a truck sit in front of the remains of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri. The misshapen truck and the bullet holes that riddle it illustrate the intensity of the fighting that took place one year ago. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
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Photo 9 The neighbourhood of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri is totally flattened. One year on, residents of the area can’t return home as there is nothing waiting for them but debris. Photo: Tom Peyre-C
The neighbourhood of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri is totally flattened. One year on, residents of the area can’t return home as there is nothing waiting for them but debris. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Photo 10 Firas stands in front of what is left of his car. Firas is the owner of a bakery shop in West Mosul. He came back to his neighbourhood one year ago, after the military operations ended. “Unti
Firas stands in front of what is left of his car. He owns a bakery in west Mosul. He came back to his neighbourhood one year ago, after the military operations ended. "Until now, nothing has changed in the area. Less than a quarter of the people are back, the rest cannot return because they lack basic services such as water and electricity. Most of the support comes from the people from the neighbourhood" Firas says. "The city is still a pile of rubble. Most of the people in the city live in damaged houses, sometimes crammed in one room." [Helen Baker/ NRC]
Photo 11 A street in Mosul’s old city. Cars and inhabitants circulate with difficulty in this apocalyptic scenery, as small adjacent streets are not safe yet. Photo: Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC. 03/07/2018 –
Vehicles navigate a street in Mosul’s old city. Cars and inhabitants circulate with difficulty in this apocalyptic scene, as small adjacent streets are not safe yet. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Photo 12 and 13 The remains of Mosul’s main hospital. One year on, most of the essential public infrastructures in the city are still destroyed. Photo: Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC. 03/07/2018 – West Mosul
The remains of Mosul’s main hospital. One year on, most of the essential public infrastructure in the city is still in ruins. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Photo 14 A man speaks out in front of what is left of his shop. Taha was the owner of a sound recording studio is currently jobless in West Mosul. “ISIS confiscated the recording devices from my studi
A man speaks in front of what is left of his shop. Taha was the owner of a sound recording studio but is currently jobless in west Mosul. "ISIL confiscated the recording devices from my studio so I made it a falafel shop, but since the retaking of Mosul I am jobless and I have a family to feed. There are no jobs, the streets are still laced with rubble, and nobody cares about us," Taha says. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Photo 15 and 16 A bulldozer demolishes the remains of a building in west Mosul. Clearing operations have started recently but the scale of the work that needs to be done is immense and the Iraqi autho
A bulldozer demolishes the remains of a building in west Mosul. Clearing operations have started recently but the scale of the work that needs to be done is immense and Iraqi authorities are cruelly lacking in resources. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]
Photo 17 The remains of an IS group stronghold. This heavily damaged building is sadly famous for having been the scene of numerous executions perpetuated by ISIS. Photo: Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC. 25/06/20
This heavily damaged building is sadly notorious for having been the scene of numerous executions perpetrated by ISIL. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]]
Photo 18 A man stands in front of his rented house. Alaa, a father of three children, lives in a rented house in Mosul with two other families. They are twelve people in all crammed in one home. “Most
A man stands in front of his house. Alaa, a father of three, lives in a rented house in Mosul with two other families. Twelve people live crammed in one home. "Most people cannot return because they lost their homes and cannot afford to rebuild. They also lack services like water, electricity, job opportunities, schools, and medical care," Alaa says. His own house was damaged in May 2017 during operations to retake the city from ISIL. A third of displaced families living outside camps face eviction because they can’t afford to pay the rent. [Karl Schembri/NRC]
Photo 19 A destroyed bridge on the Tigris river. Most of the bridges linking the eastern and western parts of the city were destroyed. Only a few have been partially rebuilt with often only one lane,
Most of the bridges linking the eastern and western parts of the city were destroyed. Only a few have been partially rebuilt with often only one lane, making traffic in the city difficult. [Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC]