• They were fleeing for their lives through the rubble-strewn streets of Wadi Hajar, transformed in a flash into a battleground between ISIL fighters and Iraqi special forces. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
    They were fleeing for their lives through the rubble-strewn streets of Wadi Hajar, transformed in a flash into a battleground between ISIL fighters and Iraqi special forces. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
  • Like many of their neighbours - some wearing rubber sandals, some barefoot - they were running from an ISIL counter-attack, dodging gunfire as the militants closed in. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
    Like many of their neighbours - some wearing rubber sandals, some barefoot - they were running from an ISIL counter-attack, dodging gunfire as the militants closed in. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

Terror on Mosul’s front line: the story behind the photo


  • English
  • Arabic

MOSUL // Both screaming in terror, a father and the young daughter he cradled in his arm fled through the rubble-strewn streets of Wadi Hajar, transformed in a flash into a battleground between ISIL fighters and Iraqi special forces.

They and their neighbours - some wearing rubber sandals, some barefoot - were running from an ISIL counter-attack in this part of Mosul, dodging gunfire as the militants closed in.

When they reached the special forces lines, males were ordered to lift their shirts to prove they were not suicide bombers.

Some had to take off their clothes or show their belts, though not those carrying children.

In this case, the father was so beside himself, so panicked. It was obvious he was not from ISIL because he had a short shirt on and was carrying a child. It is believed they will both be taken to a refugee camp.

It has become a common tactic for the militants to use suicide bombers, and the soldiers were firing their guns in the air to try to slow the residents down, shouting at them in Arabic.

A day earlier, Iraqi troops used bulldozers to move cars into a makeshift barricade aimed at protecting residents from suicide attacks in the area.

Civilians have been displaced in greater numbers in recent days, as the fighting in and around ISIL’s last strongholds in Mosul rages in residential neighbourhoods where water, food and power have been rationed for months.

* Goran Tomasevic, Reuters photographer

Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

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