For some Mosul men, escape leads straight to the interrogator

Displaced Iraqis who had fled their homes are seen as they wait for a transfer to eastern Mosul, after their arrival at Hammam al-Alil camp checkpoint south of Mosul, Iraq April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

HAMMAM AL-ALIL CAMP, Iraq (Reuters) - The Iraqi intelligence officer kept barking the same question at the 46-year-old man who was looking nervously at his hands after having escaped Mosul: "Why do you still have a beard?"

Having walked with his wife and children across frontlines in Iraq's second-largest city, dodging gun fights between Iraqi forces and Islamic State, the man, Mohammed, was hoping for a tent and the chance to rest in the crowded Hammam al-Alil camp for displaced people.