Mosul battle: Heartbreaking photos of Iraqis transporting bodies of civilians

A number of exhausted Iraqis were seen fleeing from parts of Mosul controlled by Islamic State and appeared to be pushing their worldly possessions on handcarts. But, as they were approached nearer, it was heartbreaking to see their cargos had the blood-covered bodies of children, who were killed in US-led air strikes.

One man told Reuters that an air strike had landed by Mosul's train station, an area the family had just moved to after fleeing their home in the Wadi Hajjar neighbourhood where fighting had become too intense. "This is my son. He is gone," he said.

"This happened because of air strikes. These were in their homes and the air strikes killed them," the man added, showing other small bodies, cut by shrapnel or debris, on the cart. However, Reuters could not verify his account.

Several other families were also seen trekking down the road through rain and mud towards buses sent to take civilians to camps used similar carts to transport elderly relatives. In this gallery, IBTimes Singapore brings you some of those pictures of Mosul crisis.