Mother reveals how ISIS thugs pulled out clumps of her 18-month-old son’s hair to amuse themselves in Mosul

"IT was just for their amusement," Nadiya recalls as she describes how ISIS thugs tore clumps of hair from her 18-month old toddler Ali's head.

Yet she and her family were among the lucky ones to escape from the battle-scarred city of Mosul.

Only weeks ago Nadiya and her family clung on for dear life as all they knew around them was destroyed amid a hail of shells and bullets in the battle for Iraq's third city.

Her young son Ali suffered cruel abuse at the hands of extremists driven by a warped will to destroy all around them.

The cute toddler became on object of fun for ISIS soldiers.

Nayiya explains: "Daesh [ISIS] soldiers constantly used to pull out clumps of my son’s hair.

"It was just for amusement, they thought it was really funny.

"Now he is absolutely terrified of men."

"We never thought we’d be able to escape alive," she adds.

But the family was able to flee the carnage, arriving at a hospital supported by the AMAR Foundation - aimed at helping those affected by war.

Ali's tiny month-old sister is now being treated for a severe chest infection at the Shikhan Hospital.

She may not have survived had she not reached this bastion of hope in the middle of a war.

But there are many more crying out for help.

More than 500,000 of Mosul's inhabitants are believed to be children.

The Sun's Smiles at Christmas campaign wants to help bring a little light into the life of those drowning in the darkness of the bloody conflict.

The Foundation's chairman Baroness Nicholson explains: "Already, there are an extraordinary number of victims whose suffering is unbelievable.