“Official reports indicate that 36 percent [of those who fled] have returned to the liberated areas in the past months in Diyala,” he said, adding “there are around 17 thousand families waiting the decision for them to return back.”

Iraq announced in January that Iraqi forces had “liberated” Diyala, significant parts of which had been overrun by ISIS after the militants launched a brutally effective offensive last June.

But even if ISIS no longer fully controls towns in Diyala, militants can still carry out deadly bombings in the province, as they have for years.