Dispatch: Even American might cannot erase the fear this brutality has instilled

It was not long before Haval mentioned the fears I would hear over and over, day after day, even in the areas of northern Iraq which have so far escaped the Islamist onslaught.

He was terrified for his family. He asked me: “These lunatics cut off people’s heads, they murder children. Can you believe it?”

Haval is prepared. Like other men in Irbil, he has sent his family away. They are stockpiling weapons. He will stay to fight if the Islamists come.

They did come to the nearby town of Makhmur. Driving in we see only troops, no residents walking or moving around. Only men with guns, artillery, battered buildings, bodies.

But the men in uniform are not the IS militants but Kurdish peshmerga, who are basking in the glow of their recent victory. Fierce fighting, backed by US airstrikes, drove the Islamists from the town. As we talk we notice a gathering. Imams have come to bless the peshmerga. One says: “God will protect you. IS are not Muslims. We are Muslims.”

Then the first of several vehicles appears, loaded down with furniture, clothes, fridges, food. Residents have returned. But they make the briefest of appearances.