IS Kills Civilians Fleeing Mosul

IS fighters have killed dozens of civilians attempting to flee Mosul in recent days, hanging several dead bodies from electricity poles as Iraqi forces fight to retake the city, witnesses said.

Troops are meeting fierce resistance as IS retreats into the Old City, where street fighting is expected in the narrow alleyways and around the mosque where the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group declared its caliphate nearly three years ago, Aljazeera reported.

The Kurdistan Region’s Security Council said the number of people killed by IS on Monday and Tuesday was as high as 140.

In the Old City, more than 40 civilians were killed when IS caught them trying to escape, said a resident of the Farouq District where the symbolic Nuri Mosque is located.

Another resident of the Old City’s Shahwan District said a family of six, including an elderly woman, had also been killed for the same reason.

A woman from the Yarmouk District said she had narrowly escaped death along with her husband and children after IS caught them trying to flee among a group of about 30 people.

“They took our bags thinking there was gold or money in them and as they were busy checking the contents, we fled through the houses taking advantage of the pitch darkness,” said the woman, who is now in an area under the control of the security forces.