Syrians catch breath as post-IS Dabiq takes shape
With the help of its local council, aspects of a normal life are gradually returning to Syria’s Dabiq following the Islamic State's expulsion from the town in late 2016.
ALEPPO, Syria — Mohammed Omar, 15, still remembers every detail of his father’s arrest on Aug. 14, 2014. He was taken by members of the Islamic State (IS) the day after the group took control of his hometown of Dabiq, in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
“I waited two years for him to come back. I needed him to be with my younger siblings, my mother and me, but we received news that he was killed by IS in a prison in al-Bab. My mom told me he was killed because he belonged to the Free Syrian Army,” he said.
Omar returned to school one month after IS was expelled from the town in mid-October 2016. His school reopened its doors in mid-November 2016 after two years of closure while IS controlled the town and ran it as a military headquarters.
At the beginning of June, Omar received the results of his exams. “My father said I would get a small motorcycle when I passed. … But he did not fulfill his promise. IS killed him, and now he is gone forever,” Omar told Al-Monitor.
