As Iraq forces push back Islamic State, a lucky few make it home
Iraqi Sunni refugees return back to Alam, northeast of Tikrit, after the town was recaptured by Sunni and Shiite fighters. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images)
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By Loveday Morris-March 21 at 3:30 AMALAM, Iraq — Sabha al-Jabbouri gingerly opened the door to her family home to see a kitchen strewn with dirty pots and pans and rubbish. On the table was a half-eaten meal, indicating that the unwelcome guests who had lived here for eight months had left in a hurry.
On the wall outside was scrawled: “Property of the Islamic State.” Seized after Jabbouri’s family had fled in late June, the home had been used as an administrative office by the militant Sunni group. Printed forms from its “Department of Prisons” had been tossed around downstairs bedrooms that were filled
