Wounded and Alone, Children Emerge From Last Enclave of ISIS

Hareth Najem, an Iraqi orphan lies under a blanket in a truck, near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria, on March 1, 2019. Rodi Said/Reuters

DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria—Hareth Najem fled the last enclave of ISIS in eastern Syria wounded and alone. The Iraqi orphan’s family had died two years earlier in air strikes across the border in al-Qaim region.

“I had two brothers and a sister. They all died, and then I was by myself,” Hareth told Reuters, tears filling his eyes. “My little sister, I loved her a lot. I used to take her with me to the market.”