This morning, a car packed with explosives blew up in southern Baghdad,
killing at least 48 people in the third suicide attack
in the Iraqi capital in just three days.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the barrage of bombings,
which the group has been stepping up after being dislodged from its Iraqi strongholds,
particularly their grand prize, Mosul, where Iraqi coalition forces
recently liberated the eastern half of the city.
An ISIS suicide bomb killed 14 people and wounded 30 in East Mosul last Friday,
shattering the sense of security that had been building.
But even faced with that constant threat,
residents there are determined to resume their lives.
Well under ISIS control, more than one million residents,
including 600,000 children, effectively became prisoners.
Mosul's schools were either closed or forced to teach an ISIS-approved curriculum.
More than 30 schools have now reopened,
and another 40 are expected to open in coming weeks.
— Mrs. Huda was a teacher in Mosul when ISIS took over.
She is gradually putting her class back together.
Although ISIS kept the school open,
their actions meant that many of the students stopped coming.
Many barely even left their homes.
— Can you describe what it's been like for the past two-and-a-half years?
— When you say things became harder, what do you mean? What happened?
— The Dijlah Elementary School for Girls,
also in the Mosul neighborhood of Al Zuhour,
is another school reopening in the city.
It used to have 260 students.
But with many of the other schools destroyed,
over 400 have arrived at their gates since Eastern Mosul was officially liberated.
Students of all grades are eager to return to their studies,
after almost three years of conflict and occupation.
— In June 2014, when ISIS stormed the city,
life continued relatively normally for those trapped inside.
But gradually, harsh new rules were strictly enforced.
During the occupation, many teachers were forced to work against their will.
— ISIS created and printed their own curriculum,
and forced students and teachers to follow it.
A radical interpretation of Islamic law, strategic geography, and biographies of ISIS leaders
replaced tradition and classes on history, literature, music and art.
— They also enforced military training,
with lessons on weapons and urban fighting.
In addition to returning to Iraq's national curriculum,
Mosul's teachers will also need to provide psychological support
to a generation exposed to the horrors of life under ISIS.
— But much of Mosul's infrastructure is in tatters.
The school's administration is attempting to source books, stationery, and the money for teaching salaries.
Elsewhere, some of Mosul's rich heritage is beyond repair.
— In February 2015, ISIS fighters stormed the University of Mosul's library,
burning over 8,000 books and 112,000 ancient manuscripts.
The library, established in 1921 as a symbol of the birth of a modern Iraq, was also set on fire.
— And they forced everybody to watch? — Yeah.
— Moaeyed Amir Saeed was a teacher in Mosul before ISIS took over.
After months living under their rule,
he fled the city with his young family.
— Is there a single book left?
— The one we saw coming in?
— Literally one book survived?