With Islamic State expelled from Mosul after a prolonged siege, residents who joined the million-strong exodus from Iraq’s second largest city are slowly starting to return. However, most of them have no home to return to, other than a few ruins and dust. All Photos Kate Holt/War Child UK

A young boy sits on top of a truck containing his family’s belongings as they make the slow journey on the road back to Mosul, Iraq. The exodus of civilians from the battleground northern Iraqi city has reached an unprecedented level, leaving aid agencies struggling to cope and forcing some families to turn around and attempt to go back to their shattered homes.

Children play among rows of dust-covered tents in a camp for people displaced from Mosul, in northern Iraq. Many people who have fled their homes have no hope of returning as insecurity continues.

A woman walks passed a destroyed university building in Hamam al-Alil, Mosul, in September 2017. The city was liberated in November 2016 by Iraqi forces from Islamic State, who are reported to have killed more than 40 civilians in one massacre: their bodies are buried under this rubble.

Young girls play in a child friendly space run by War Child UK, at a camp near Dohuk. Services are limited in such camps, with little likelihood of schooling.

Rows of shoes are neatly stacked at Dohuk camp. Insecurity continues in Mosul, and many people are turning their temporary shelters into homes, where they will stay with their children for the foreseeable future.

Zaha has fled with his family from a town near Mosul to escape fighting between Iraqi forces and Isis. He is pictured with his two grandchildren at a camp near Dohuk. One of his grandsons, Salafi, was injured when a bomb exploded in their village, which killed his son, the boys’ father.

Sayed, 14, was captured by Islamic State fighters and held for two years with his brother. ‘When Isis came to my town my brother and me were captured. We had to work hard every day, doing jobs like cleaning. They also taught us how to shoot with guns. We had to learn the Qur’an and how to fight. One day, my brother and I managed to escape. We walked for 9 days before reaching this camp.’