Defeating Islamic State Leaves Bill Iraq’s Struggling to Pay

Ahmed al-Jabouri had hoped the worst was over after Iraqi forces drove Islamic State from his town near Baghdad. Instead, he returned six weeks ago to find bombed out homes, looted shops and a growing list of grievances.

Only a few buildings in Dhuluiya survived heavy fighting unscathed, the shopkeeper said after he became one of thousands of Iraqis to pick up the pieces of their lives in areas liberated from militant control. “The power is out, the school is destroyed and our mobile phones don’t work,” al-Jabouri said. “The government is doing nothing for us.”