Hammam al-Alil (Iraq) (AFP) - Hammam al-Alil's sulphur springs and reopened spa have become a spot where the soldiers fighting in Mosul and the civilians fleeing it meet for a rare moment of relaxation. "We fight on the front line and we come here when we get leave," said Sahad Mohammed Jaber, a 32-year-old member of a federal police artillery unit. Hammam al-Alil lies a half-hour drive south of the front line in west Mosul, where thousands of Iraqi forces are attempting to root out diehard Islamic State group jihadists defending their last major bastion in Iraq.



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