‘We cleared rubble with our bare hands’: Iraqis rejoice as shattered Mosul rises from the ruins

City damaged during occupation by Islamic State group reopens 850-year-old mosque in time for Ramadan as reconstruction gathers pace

In the small courtyard of Sara's grandmother's house, children are running and playing as if time had never passed. The house kept our memories," Sara says, sitting on the sofa of the courtyard. It seems like we never left. On the contrary, when we came back, we felt we belonged to this house."

Located in the old Iraqi city of Mosul, right behind the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, their home is part of the local cultural heritage. It was heavily damaged during the occupation by Islamic State (IS) and the battle to reclaim the city by Iraqi armed forces, backed by US coalition airstrikes. Sara and her family were forcibly displaced during the fighting in 2017 and for many years feared they would never see their home intact again.