The young boy's eyes fill with tears when he recalls the circumstances that led to his exile.

"They killed my father and uncle in front of my eyes," he says.

He then breaks down sobbing. He can no longer speak. The anguish is unbearable.

Such stories are not uncommon in Iraq four years after the U.S.-led invasion. Health officials say the daily hardships -- bomb blasts, gunfire, killings of family members and sectarian violence -- are taking an increasing toll on Iraq's children.