Injured kids rushed to safety from war-ravaged Mosul as major storms wreak more misery on thousands trapped in squalid camps

WOUNDED kids were seen being rushed to safety from war-ravaged Mosul as major storms heaped further misery on thousands of refugees.

More than 74,000 people have been forced to flee their homes following the offensive to retake the last major ISIS stronghold in Iraq.

Shocking pictures reveal how hundreds of young Iraqi children have been injured while trying to escape to safe zones and migrant camps.

Refugee kids have been targeted by jihadi snipers and used as human shields by the terror group as the fighting with Iraqi troops intensifies.

Major storms have wreaked fresh hell on thousands of families who are now trapped in squalid camps in villages outside the city.

Heavy rain and strong winds winter swept the Mosul area on Wednesday evening, drenching the refugees gathered in the crowded camps dotting the region.

The first sub-zero temperatures hit earlier this week and on Thursday some families in Khazir camp woke up to find their foam mattresses soaked in muddy water.

"We are cursed," said mother-of-two Samar Lafi, who is sheltering in the camp.

"We don't put the heater on, we'd rather use the paraffin they are giving us to cook."

Refugees were pictures trudging along in the mud and pushing wheelbarrows filled with basic goods down the drenches alleys.

Some wore plastic bags over their shoes to walk through the puddles while a group of children embraced the situation and played in the biggest pool of muddy water.

"This is how we live," said Waddah Abdelhadi, 28, from Mosul's Intisar neighbourhood.

"The water entered some tents, we wish they had put a concrete base under them or surfaced at least the main road to facilitate the movements of those coming back with from the shops.”

The tents in Khazir, the largest of the camps set up for the people displaced by the Mosul offensive, stretch over more than 1km.

"It's very muddy inside the tents, and it's only going to get worse with the frosty weather," Abdelhadi said.

Camp manager Badreddin Najmeddin said 6,000 heaters were handed out in Khazir over the past two days.

The hundreds of thousands who remained in their homes inside Mosul face no better conditions however, with fierce fighting raging in the city.

The United Nations warned on Wednesday that up to 500,000 children inside Mosul were facing a shortage of drinking water that will have a "catastrophic impact."

The constant stream of Iraqi trucks desperately trying to ship water to inhabitants is not enough.

But you can help.

The Sun is supporting the AMAR Foundation, which works with the innocent children of Mosul to ensure they have access to clean food, water and shelter.

A generous £30 donation is enough to feed a family for one week.

However, any donation you can make – no matter how small – could help keep a child alive this Christmas.

To donate, visit The Sun’s Smiles at Christmas campaign page.

You can read about the the great work AMAR does in Iraq HERE.