The civilians crowd together in a narrow alleyway, stranded near house-to-house fighting and surrounded by the stark devastation of western Mosul, where the battle against the Islamic State was supposed to be over.
Video taken from a drone on Monday quickly confirmed that the battle to seize Mosul from the Islamic State continues, and that at least 100 civilians were still trapped by the fighting.
For days since the government officially declared victory in the city, Times journalists and other witnesses in Mosul had confirmed that the sounds of intense fighting could still be heard from pockets within Western Mosul.
Now, these drone images have provided the clearest account yet of a grinding battle that continues against the Islamic State’s holdout force. And in one section of the city, a large number of civilians can be seen in a tight and enclosed section of alleyway, confirming fears that many Mosul residents have been unable to escape.
Aid workers say that in recent days, those civilians who do manage to escape have been found in worse shape than ever, emaciated by hunger and often wounded or in intense emotional distress.