EXCLUSIVE: Abandoned toys, tiny dust-covered shoes and bombed out windows: Father of tragic Aylan returns to the family home they were forced to leave after ISIS attack

• Photographs taken of Aylan Kurdi's family home in Kobane, Syria, reveal the devastation caused by Islamic State
• Toys and clothes are among the belongings still in the house which were left when the Kurdi family fled the city
• House was rebuilt when Kobane was liberated but between 20 and 30 relatives were beheaded by ISIS militants 
• Aylan's uncle has spoken of the terror of living in the city and about his own journey to a German refugee camp 

By Jenny Stanton and Sara Malm for MailOnline

Published: 02:33 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 07:52 EST, 6 September 2015

Tiny dust-covered shoes, abandoned toys and children's clothes lie among the bombed-out remains of the Kobane home Aylan Kurdi and his family were forced to leave when Islamic State militants attacked. 

The crumbling house in the war-torn Syrian city gives an insight into the devastation that ultimately led his mother and father, Abdullah and Rehan, to board a small boat in the dead of night with their two young sons in an attempt to reach western Europe.

Today, Abdullah returned to the family home, confronting the memories of his two young sons and wife, just days after burying them on the outskirts of their old home town. 

Heartbreaking: Abdullah Al-Kurdi, father of three-year-old Aylan, stands in his youngest son's room on Sunday after returning to Kobane

Memories: Accompanied by a young relative, Abdullah looks through his young children's soft toys, just days after burying them

Return to Kobane: Abdullah  sits next to his nephew in a relative's house after returning to Kobane to bury his two sons and his wife

Mohamad Kurdi, Abdullah's brother, has spoken about the family's terrifying life in Syria, his own journey to a refugee camp in Germany and his heartbreak on hearing the news his relatives had died.

The picture of Aylan's tiny body washed up on a beach in Turkey sent shock waves around the world this week. Like many other Syrian refugees, his family paid people-smugglers thousands of pounds for four seats in a dingy headed for the Greek island of Kos.

But their boat capsized shortly after setting off and Aylan, three, his brother, five, and his mother, 35, drowned. Just their grief-stricken father, 40, survived the tragedy and he has since returned to Kobane where he laid his family to rest.

Aylan's tragic last words before drowning were 'daddy, please don't die', as Abdullah tried desperately to save his loved ones.

Exclusive photographs of their former home in Syria reveal the reality of the family's life in a war zone and why they decided to risk their lives in search of a better life.

Crumbling: Aylan and Galip lived in this house in Kobane, Syria, with their parents before an ISIS attack caused them to flee their home

Memories: A broken trike which once belonged to the brothers remains inside the house in Kobane they fled with their family in 2013

Heart-breaking: Children's dust-covered shoes are pictured in the home where Aylan, Galip, Rehan and Abdullah once lived in Kobane

Happier times: Aylan (left in both pictures) and his brother, Galip (right in both pictures), died while trying to reach Europe with their family

Speaking to MailOnline from a refugee camp in Germany, Mohamad, 47, said the family first fled to Kobane from Damascus in 2012 after Abdullah was detained and tortured by the government.

When he was finally freed, he moved his family to the town near the Turkish border, where they lived in two rooms in the house owned by his wife's parents for about 18 months. But soon they were given another reason to uproot once again.

'People were terrified when ISIS came in. People started leaving - it was just terrible,' Mohamad said. 'Almost all of the residents of Kobane fled to Turkey because nobody could live there.'

Home: The Kurdi family lived in two rooms in this house in Kobane after moving from Damascus, but was forced to flee when ISIS attacked

Belongings: Toys and tiny children's shoes are among the items still in the house in Kobane the Kurdis lived in before the tragedy struck

Left behind: The refugees left many of their belongings behind when they fled the country and the children's clothes remain in the house

Laughing: Mohamad Kurdi said his nephews Aylan and Kurdi were happy and loved to play and laugh before their deaths earlier this week

Family: Mohamad Kurdi (right) has spoken of his heartbreak following the death of his brother's (centre in left) family earlier this week

Abdullah, a hairdresser, began working in Turkey while his family remained in the border city of Kobane, but he returned to help them flee in 2013. The house was destroyed during shelling, Mohamad said, and the family relocated to Turkey.

'We worked in construction sites, it was very, very difficult for us but we had to because we had large families,' he added. 'Turkey opened their doors but we do not have any rights there. 

'We cannot enjoy life there or our human rights. Life was difficult in Turkey.'

Four months ago, Mohamad embarked on the treacherous journey, leaving his pregnant wife and children behind. He reached Kos in a small rubber dinghy and was able to make his way to Germany, mainly on foot. 

Abdullah and his family soon followed, but only made it as far as the Turkish coast before their lives and journey to western Europe were cut short. 

Damaged: Their  home in the Syrian city was destroyed during shelling but was rebuilt when Kobane was liberated by Kurdish forces

Destruction: The property beside the Kurdi family's former home is no more than a pile of rubble after it was it was flattened during shelling

Flattened: Kobane's residents, including the Kurdi family, fled the terror and destruction when Islamic State militants attacked the city

Debris: Some of the properties in Kobane were rebuilt but many, like this one nearby, were abandoned when ISIS attacked the Syrian city

Razed to the ground: Many of the buildings in the war-torn town in Syria have been abandoned after they were damaged during shelling

Destroyed: The city of Kobane is pictured last year during an air strike attack as ISIS and Kurdish fighters battled 

Destruction: Much of Kobane was razed to the ground as the militant jihadists attempted to gain control of the the city

Mohamad said: 'Since I heard the news I have been devastated and I'm speechless. It's a very, very hard time for me.' 

He added: 'I have faith in God and maybe God has chosen this fate for my brother's family.'

Describing his young nephews, he said: 'They were happy, they loved to laugh, they loved to play. Their father was doing his best to maintain the daily needs of his children. He used to do everything for them to make them happy.'

And it was no doubt this unconditional love for his sons and his determination to improve their lives that led Abdullah and his family to make the treacherous journey. 

Islamic State fighters battled for four months to seize Kobane last year, but Kurdish fighters backed by US-led air strikes regained control in January in a symbolic defeat for the jihadists.

When the city was liberated, some of the houses were rebuilt, including the Kurdi's home where Mohamad also lived briefly, but in June militants attacked the city once again. 

Toys and teddies: Yesterday a photographer took these photographs inside the home the Kurdi family lived in before they fled Kobane

Family home: When Kobane was liberated earlier this year, many of the properties were rebuilt, including the house lived in by the Kurdis

Smiling: A smiling dolly, teddy bears and toys were among the items left by the Kobane family when they fled when ISIS attacked the city

Toys: These two cuddly toys were owned by Aylan and Galip before their lives were cut short when they drowned off the Turkish coast

Clothes: This bag is filled with children's clothes that once belonged to Aylan and Galip who died off the Turkish coast this week

Remains: A tatty shelving unit, glasses and jars are among the items still inside the home Aylan and Galip Kurdi lived in with their family

Ramshackled: The crumbling house in the war-torn Syrian city gives an insight into the devastation that ultimately led them to leave

A multi-front attack on the city over four day saw ISIS fighters detonate suicide bombs and battle Kurdish forces in the streets, massacring civilians as they went. 

Some 230 civilians died and a reported 37 Kurdish fighters were killed as the terror group attacked the town on three sides after reportedly coming across the border from Turkey. 

Among those killed members of Mohamad and Abdullah's family, including children, women and elderly relatives.

'When ISIS returned, 20 to 30 people from my family were slaughtered,' Mohamad said. 'They were not shot - they were beheaded.'

Rehan's side of the family also suffered loss, her father revealed this week, including some of Galip and Aylan's second cousins and their partners, as well as their great-aunt. Some were shot in their homes. 

'Only a few months ago we lost 11 family members and now this,' the boys' maternal grandfather, Sexo Seno Kurdi told Newsweek.

'Now my daughter and grandchildren are also fallen martyrs for Kobane.' 

Despite the risks, Abdullah returned to the city this week to bury his family and has vowed to stay there.

Attack: ISIS battled for months to seize the Kobane last year, but Kurdish fighters backed by US-led air strikes regained control in January

Loving: Abdullah was doing his best to maintain the needs of his children and did everything to make them happy, Mohamad said

Abdullah and his family left Turkey but only made it as far as the coast before their lives, and search for a better life, were cut short

The world has reacted with a huge outpouring of sympathy toward Syrian refugees since the image of Aylan’s body washed up on a beach circulated on Wednesday.

But who does his uncle is to blame for the tragedy?  

'I think Turkey is responsible,' he explained. 'They have to do more to stop the smugglers from using this type of boats - they should have some rules or regulations.

'I ask the governments to do something to find a solution in our country or let us go somewhere safe - not to hold us in one place.'

Mohamad, who has trekked through harsh terrain and along roadsides to reach Germany, added: 'People are marching through forests and people are dying in the forests. Every day people are dying on the roads as well.

'I am saying this to stop other people from dying.'  

Upsetting: This picture of Aylan Kurdi's tiny body washed up on a beach in Turkey sent shock waves around the world earlier this week

Last photo: This is believed to be the last picture of Aylan Kurdi before he died when his family's boat capsized off the coast of Turkey

 Happy: Aylan Kurdi, who was three when he died, has been described by his uncle as a boy who was happy and loved to play and laugh

Mourning: Abdullah al-Kurdi holds his son's body as the family bury their loved ones during a funeral in Kobane on Friday

Funeral: Friends and relatives of the Kurdi family stand by the coffins of the young boys and their mother at the funeral in Kobane

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