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Courtney Bonneau is a freelance photographer focused on documenting conflict and post-conflict environments such as Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran.

At a stoplight in East Mosul, a van packed with women and children drives through the city on International Women’s Day. Seeing women on the streets remains a rare sight in the city as the rebuilding efforts are barely underway. A car bomb exploded half an hour later one street away from this spot. The bomb was detonated outside the restaurant Spicy Chicken, a popular hang out for politicians and members of NGOS. The targets were a diplomat and his family, and a child and a member of the security forces were killed in the explosion. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

Seen from inside a building on Al-Shaziani street which was formerly occupied by ISIS, the Al-Nuri mosque is slowly being rebuilt after being largely destroyed by ISIS. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

A man walks away from a structure featuring the hopeful hashtag I [heart] Mosul], with a slightly damaged heart. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

An artistic rendering of plans to rebuild in Mosul stands amidst destroyed structures and muddy streets. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

Abdul, a 76-year-old man and a lifelong resident of West Mosul, walks the deserted and damaged streets after returning with the surviving members of his family to rebuild their family home. Some of the obstacles they face are deep mud in the roads, which are impassable at times. Undetonated explosives, human remains and human waste pose threats to their health and their lives, and making the prospect rebuilding extremely daunting. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

A small patch of green that appears during the brief Iraqi spring is seen from the roof of a house on Al-Shaziani street which was formerly occupied by ISIS, across from Al-Nuri mosque. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

In the restricted area of the old city of Mosul, a pile of skull fragments, human hair and a vertebra (right) (identified by a German neurosurgeon as the second cervical vertebrae of a child) are simply lying out in the open. According to local NGO workers, the Iraqi government are refusing to clear away the human remains in West Mosul and claiming they want to leave the remains of ISIS fighters there as a message, but the remains of innocent victims of the battle to defeat ISIS, many of whom may have been used as human shields, are also likely being left out in the open. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

In a restricted area of the old city, the carcass of a cow blends in to the rubble and trash. The livestock of ISIS starved to death along with the countless residents of the old city. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

An unexploded American mortar lies on top of rubble on a roof on Al-Shaziani street, directly across the street from the reconstruction efforts at the Al-Nuri mosque. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

Rusted bullet casings litter the floor of the bathroom of a home formerly occupied by ISIS. The spent casings are a sign that a gunman used the bathroom window to fire on the Al-Nouri mosque: the window overlooks the mosque on Al-Shaziani street. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

In the midst of buildings reduced to rubble and rusted remnants of a truck, a group of teenagers walk down a street in east Mosul on a sunny afternoon. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

Men cross the street at a busy intersection in East Mosul. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

A man and a boy are seated next to a vegetable stand in West Mosul. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago.

Beds, pillows and empty bottles and cans lie on the floor amid rubble in a home that was occupied by ISIS fighters. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

Two men sit on the east bank of the Tigris, across the water from the flattened old city of Mosul. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

Signs of the chaotic desperation of the final days of ISIS’ occupation of Mosul still cover the floor and stairs inside a home Al-Shaziani street. The western section of Mosul remains dangerous even as residents are returning to the Iraqi city and attempting to get back to normal life – no longer because of members of the so-called Islamic State, but because unexploded munitions and human and animal remains left to rot in the streets. It has been a year and a half since the city was taken back from ISIS, but many streets still look as if the siege stopped days ago. Citizens of Mosul are driving the streets, playing games on sunny terraces and opening up market stands in the city, but the signs of resilience are in striking contrast to the destruction which the Iraqi government has yet to clean up.

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