Families have begun returning to Falluja three months after the Iraqi city was declared fully liberated from Islamic State (Isis). The city was declared fully liberated in late June after a month-long operation by Iraqi forces aided by US-led airstrikes. Falluja had been the first Iraqi city to fall to Isis, in January 2014. More than a hundred civilians were killed by explosives planted by Isis in Ramadi as they initially tried to return. The UN says up to a million civilians could flee Mosul once the push to retake the city begins.

Source: The Guardian September 19, 2016 12:22 UTC