Posing for pictures giving the victory sign and scrambling around government forces for fruit, Iraqi children have been celebrating the liberation of their village from ISIS.
Youngsters in the village of al-Khuwayn, south of Mosul couldn't contain their excitement after the terror group were driven out as coalition forces advance on the city.
The liberation comes as the operation to tighten the noose around Mosul enters a second week as the battle continues to reclaim the last Iraqi city under control of ISIS.
A group of Iraqi girls gather around to give the victory sign after the village was liberated by Iraqi forces from ISIS
Youngsters in the village of al-Khuwayn, south of Mosul couldn't contain their excitement after the terror group were driven out as coalition forces advance on the city
Iraqi forces hand out fruit to children as they celebrate no longer having to live under ISIS rule
Iraqi government forces raise their national flag as they enter the village of al-Khuwayn, south of Mosul
Pictures from the village showed young girls posing giving the victory sign as Iraqi forces arrived in tanks waving the country's flag.
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Young men could also be seen crowding around vans of Iraqi troops as they drove through the village distributing fruit.
However, in other parts of the city, women and children were seen fleeing as the battle for Mosul intensifies.
In other parts of Mosul, women and children were seen fleeing the city and heading towards the Syrian border
An Iraqi refugee woman who fled Mosul walks with her child as they wait to enter Syria in the desert area of Rajam al-Saliba
A refugee toddler cries as she and another child head towards the Syrian border after fleeing the battle for Mosul
Iraqi children were pictured carrying blankets and pillows after they had fled Mosul
Hundreds of worried residents made their way to the desert area of Rajam al-Saliba on the Iraq-Syria border
Hundreds of worried residents made their way to the desert area of Rajam al-Saliba on the Iraq-Syria border south of al-Hol in Syria's Hassakeh province to cross the border.
It comes as the terror group have begun launching diversionary suicide attacks as coalition forces edge closer to liberating the Iraqi city of Mosul from their control.
The terror group unleashed a series of car bombs in the town of Rutba to the west of Mosul yesterday in a bid to distract Kurdish forces who have been approaching the city from the north.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces shelled ISIS positions outside Mosul this morning as fighting to retake the extremist-held city entered its second week.
However, yesterday jihadis stormed the town of Rutba unleashing three suicide car bombs that were apparently blown up before reaching their targets.
ISIS have began launching diversionary suicide attacks as coalition forces edge closer to liberating the Iraqi city of Mosul from their control
Iraqi forces enter a church in the town of Bartella in a bid to liberate it from ISIS control
Inside the church, pews had been destroyed, the altar had been vandalised and ISIS graffiti was daubed on the walls
Spokesman for the Joint Military Command Brigadier General Yahya Rasool confirmed that several militants were killed but declined to say if any civilians or Iraqi forces were left dead.
He added that ISIS did not seize any government building and that the situation was 'under control.'
Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, confirmed there had been a complex attack in Rutba and said he expects more such diversionary attacks as Iraqi forces close in on Mosul.
For the first time in two years, the bells at the churches in Bartella were able to ring out
Iraqi forces surround a liberated church which had bee destroyed during the occupation of ISIS
Iraqi troop wave the Iraqi flag after liberating the predominantly Christian town of Bartella
A church in the Christian village of Bartella, which has been liberated from ISIS control
Faces of characters from a biblical scene have been defaced by ISIS when they were in control of the village
An Islamic State flag is painted on the wall of a church in the predominantly Christian town of Bartella during the occupation by ISIS
Piles of burned bibles lie on the ground after they were destroyed by ISIS during their occupation of Bartella
It comes after ISIS carried out a large assault on the northern city of Kirkuk seo tester on Friday, in which more than 50 militants stormed government compounds and other targets, setting off more than 24 hours of heavy fighting and killing at least 80 people, mainly security forces.
The interior of another church search engine optimization and marketing services which shows the altar and the pews ransacked and destroyed
But jihadis have been fleeing other towns as Iraqi and Kurdish forces continue their march towards Mosul, including the Christian town of Bartella.
There, Christians have been able to ring the church bells for the first time in two years since it came under ISIS control.
In one church building in Bartella, Iraqi forces discovered that ISIS graffiti had been daubed all over the walls while a statue of the Virgin Mary had been destroyed.
In the church yard, piles of burned bibles were strewn on the ground while a statue of Christ was shown to have had its head broken off.
The campaign to retake Mosul comes after months of planning and involves more than 25,000 Iraqi troops, Kurdish forces, Sunni tribal fighters and state-sanctioned Shiite militias.
It is expected to take weeks, if not months, to drive ISIS out of Iraq's second largest city, which is still home to more than a million people.
The militants captured Mosul in the summer of 2014, when they swept across much of northern and western Iraq. ISIS has suffered a series of setbacks over the past year, and Mosul is its last major urban bastion in Iraq.
Troops recover items that have been destroyed inside a church ransacked by jihadis in Iraq
The militants captured Mosul in the summer of 2014, when they swept across much of northern and western Iraq. Pictured are Iraqi troops inside one of the churches in Bartella
An Iraqi soldier walks past of broken statue of the Virgin Mary after liberating the town of Bartella
An Iraqi soldier stands guard next to a church in Bartella. In the background is a statue of Christ with its head broken off.
Meanwhile, a rights group has been calling for a probe into a suspected airstrike last week that mistakenly hit a mosque, killing over a dozen civilians.
The purported airstrike in northern Iraq struck the women's section of a Shiite mosque on Friday in the town of Daquq amid a large Islamic State assault on the nearby city of Kirkuk. That assault was meant to distract the Iraqi forces and their allies from the massive operation around Mosul.
Human Rights Watch said Daquq's residents believe the attack was an airstrike because of the extent of the destruction and because planes could be heard flying overhead. The New York-based watchdog said at least 13 people were reported killed.
Iraqi special forces prepare to attack ISIS positions as fighting to retake Mosul enters a second week
It is expected to take weeks, if not months, to drive ISIS out of Iraq's second largest city, which is still home to more than a million people
A member of the Iraqi government forces smokes a cigarette as they rest in the village of al-Khuwayn, south of Mosul, after recapturing it from ISIS
The U.S.-led coalition and the Iraqi military, which are waging the offensive to drive ISIS from the northern city of Mosul, are the only parties known to be flying military aircraft over Iraq.
Colonel John Dorrian, a U.S. military spokesman, said the coalition had 'definitively determined' that it did not conduct the airstrike that killed civilians in Daquq, and had shared its findings with the Iraqi government, which is carrying out its own investigation.
'The Coalition uses precision munitions and an exhaustive process to reduce the possibility of civilian casualties and collateral damage because the preservation of civilian life is paramount importance to us,' Dorrian said.
The Iraqi government is also investigating the attack but declined to say whether Iraqi or coalition planes were flying in the area at the time of the explosion.
Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces prepare to attack Islamic State positions as fighting to retake the extremist-held village of Tob Zawa, outside Mosul
A convoy of special forces advanced toward the village of Tob Zawa this morning encountering roadside bombs and trading heavy fire with the militants
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