<br/><br/>Thousands of Iraqi children are heading back to school in eastern areas of Mosul that have been cleared of Islamic State militants by government forces. <br/><br/>The UN Children's Fund said 30 schools had reopened on Sunday, allowing 16,000 children to resume their education after two years of jihadist rule. <br/><br/>An additional 40 schools are expected to open in the coming weeks after being checked for unexploded ordnance. IS uses schools to indoctrinate children into its extremist ideology.<br/><br/>Unicef said it was supporting the Iraqi authorities in their efforts to rehabilitate, equip and open schools as the security situation improved in previously contested areas. <br/><br/>School supplies for 120,000 students in eastern Mosul have been put in place and Unicef is retraining teachers, introducing accelerated learning programmes for children and launching awareness campaigns against violence.<br/>'''<br/><br/>