By Farman Abdulrahman
This is the main road to the town of Qayara. It is no longer used by travelers because the bridge that connects the city to the nearby villages was permanently destroyed by ISIS militants. By cutting off the town, ISIS hoped it could prolong its rule in Qayara.
The militants' control was temporary as the Iraqi army marched into the city on August 2016 despite the broken bridge, ending the brutal rule of the Islamic fanatics.
When we arrived in Qayara, security conditions were still largely fragile, forcing us to wear bulletproof vests for safety reasons.
Villagers greeted us and began their heartbreaking stories of the time they had endured under ISIS rule.
The thick smoke from oil wells that the group set on fire is still rising. As we enter the gates of the city, the magnitude of the destruction becomes evident. It is like the remains of a total war or as if a big earthquake has just struck the city.
But the destruction is mainly the outcome of allied forces' intense bombings of militant targets. Judging from the many dead ISIS bodies lying around the city streets, one can imagine that the group has put up stiff resistance before losing the town.
Now, the only reminders of the ISIS rule in Qayara are the group's infamous black signs and slogans written here and there on the walls.
During its two-year reign in the city, the ISIS put into practice nearly all its principles. In the end it managed to turn the town into a giant prison for the residents who were living under constant fear and surveillance.
The group also had a new administrative planning, creating a new province called the Tigris containing Zab, Shargat and, of course, Qayara itself.
What separated Qayara from the rest of other cities under ISIS rule, is that only Sunnis lived in the town which had an estimated 89,000 people when the group arrived. These people have directly witnessed the atrocities committed by the group and suffered just as any other religious community.
The people here have horrific stories that depict a dark age in the recent history of the town.
