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The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition
 ISIS kills mom, child escaping Mosul Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants have killed a mother and her child early Tuesday upon their attempt to escape group-held territory to others controlled by security forces in Mosul. Hussein Hajem, Mosul’s mayor, told Sputnik News that a large number of civilians started to flee IS-held areas in eastern Mosul, hoisting white flags and heading towards Iraqi government troops, but were met with shooting by militants using light weapons. The shooting, Hajem said, killed one woman, her child and an elderly man. In western Mosul, a local source told Shafaaq news website that IS militants began to forcibly recruit civilians to fight on the extremist group’s side, taking their family members as hostages to ensure abidance. “The group has taken children hostages aged between 5 and 8 to unknown destinations,” according to the source. “They invaded the residences of seven families who had declined to fight on IS’s side and arrested some family members”. Islamic State has been reportedly receding in personnel and influence in Mosul over the past two weeks as Iraqi government troops, backed by U.S.-led international air forces and popular militias, continue daily successful advances to retake Iraq’s second largest city from the militant group. Iraqi generals say they became in control over the eastern section of the city since operations launched in October, and plan to move to recapture IS western bastions after liberating that region. The conflict in Mosul has forced 178.000 civilians to flee to refugee camps, but many were occasionally targeted by militants upon escaping. 2 die in ISIS bomb attack in Kirkuk Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Two civilians died and seven others were wounded on Tuesday when an explosive device planted by Islamic State militants exploded in families escaping areas held by the group in Kirkuk. The device exploded at families escaping Hawija, an IS stronghold in Kirkuk that has been in the group’s grip since it emerged in 2014 to proclaim the establishment of a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate”. Three-months old battles between Islamic State militants and Iraqi security forces seeking to retake areas occupied by the group have forced at least 178.000 civilians to flee homes in Mosul and Kirkuk. Aid groups and human rights organizations have decried the death of many of the refugees who were deliberately targeted 9by the extremist group. The United Nations had predicted one million people to be displaced as result of operations in Mosul, where government forces had only recapture a half of the city and hope to liberate the remaining densely-populated parts. Earlier on Tuesday, Hussein al-Deleimi, a security adviser to the governor of Anbar, told Anadolu Agency that 33 families arrived in the province from Mosul after fleeing Islamic State-held regions. He said security forces screened the arrivals thoroughly to ensure that no militant elements were included. 2 journalists wounded in ISIS drone attack in Mosul [ARA News] Erbil – Two journalists on assignment for the U.S.-funded Arabic TV station Al-Hurra Iraq have been injured by an ISIS drone attack in eastern Mosul, showing the increased risks involved in covering Mosul. Al Hurra reporter Abdul Hamid Zebari, a Kurd, and assistant cameraman Yasir Salim were injured in the attack on Monday and transported to a hospital for surgery in Erbil. ISIS is using small drones with small munitions, similar to grenades, in Mosul that indiscriminately kill and injure civilians on the ground, the US-led coalition said. “The ISIS drones have evolved over time,” the US commander Colonel Brett Sylvia previously said in a press conference. “It is a capability that they have had for pretty much the duration of the time that we’ve been here. It’s, you know, commercial off-the-shelf, you know, just UAVs that — that they purchase.” “As we’ve made our way into Mosul now, what we’ve seen is that they [ISIS] use the smaller drones, the quad copters things, with a much shorter ability to project them out,” he added. According to a research by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least on journalist has been killed and more than a dozen injured since the Mosul offensive began in October 2016. “In addition to physical dangers, organizations, managers and independent journalists covering Mosul should now be considering the possible effects of psychological injury, including acute traumatic stress and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” the CPJ advised in a Safety Advisory for journalists covering the Mosul offensive. “This could be affecting journalists who have been exposed to near-death situations and who have witnessed traumatic incidents on the job, particularly if they have been covering the Mosul offensive for a protracted period,” the CPJ added. Posted by: badanov 2017-01-18 |
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