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Amid the endless horrors in Once Upon a Time In Iraq (BBC Two),a moment to lift the soul. We had been hearing about Mosul Eye, an anonymous blogger who documented life in the city under the rule of Isis, providing comfort to the beleaguered inhabitants by reassuring them that they were not alone and freedom would return one day. Then one of the films talking heads, a young history lecturer named Omar Mohammed, revealed that he was Mosul Eye. For two years he had risked his life to be, as one grateful resident put it, the ray of light that connected us to the world.

It was an act of bravery and defiance, from a man who could scarcely believe what he was seeing on the streets. Hand cutting, stoning women in the street and execution this was a normal day in Iraq, he said.

This has been the documentary series of the year, an unflinching look at the tragedies visited on Iraq since the 2003 invasion one terrible situation replaced by another, and another. The defeat of al-Qaeda and withdrawal of US troops simply left the way open for Isis. Its the same guys. They just changed T-shirts, said US journalist Dexter Filkins.

The final instalment was nightmarish. Isis filmed many of the atrocities themselves as propaganda, shown on television screens set up in the open air and watched by children in the manner of a football match. They included the Speicher massacre, in which 1,500 Iraqi Army recruits were murdered. The documentary featured an interview with the only known survivor, saved because he was drenched in another mans blood and the killers mistakenly thought they had already shot him.

Waleed Nesyif has been one of the most unforgettable voices of the series, chain-smoking his way through his interviews with dry wit and despair. Now living in Canada, his heart remains in Baghdad. But what is there for him to return to? Iraqs problems are not solely the fault of the West Its the Middle East, theres no solution, shrugged Filkins but few words now ring as hollow as Tony Blairs smooth assurance, played at the close of the programme: Removing Saddam will be a blessing to the Iraqi people.

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Once Upon A Time in Iraq, episode 5 review: this is the documentary series of the year - Telegraph.co.uk