Sep 4, 2018

Nearly four million Iraqis displaced by the war on the Islamic State group have returned to their homes, the UN migration agency said in a report released Tuesday.

When IS swept across Iraq in 2014, eventually seizing around one third of the country, it forced six million Iraqis to flee for safety, said the International Organization for Migration.

The IOM said the six million who were displaced represented around 15 percent of Iraq's total population.

"For the first time in nearly four years, the number of displaced Iraqis has fallen to below two million," the agency said. "Nearly four million have returned home."

According to the IOM, the displaced who have returned home cited several reasons for their decision, including "the improved security situatio