Fighting between Iraqi forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic State group close to Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, has displaced over 2,000 people in the past week.

On one recent night, around a hundred people arrived on the outskirts of the town of Makhmour, in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, having fled violence.

The journey ended in a long-awaited reunion for some families torn apart by war. Sheikh Matar Kurdi al-Bijari had left his home in the town of al-Zab, south of Mosul, for the city of Kirkuk in 2014 but was forced to leave his wife, daughter and son behind.