Video shows ISIS using kid as human shield
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A video released by the Iraqi Federal Police service purports to show an Islamic State militant in Mosul forcing an Iraqi child to stand as a human shield during encounters with security forces.
On its facebook page, the Federal Police command explained that the video, apparently filmed through a combat equipment, was shot during fights with IS members in central Mosul’s Old City district.
Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition, recaptured eastern Mosul in January after three months of fighting to retake the city that fell to Islamic State extremists in 2014. The government launched a new offensive in February to retake the city’s western side.
Police and supporting forces said recently they became closer to the Old City’s Nuri al-Kabir mosque, where IS supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the establishment of the group’s rule in Iraq and Syria. They had earlier recaptured the city’s airport and biggest military base besides several other districts since the launch of the campaign. The army’s leadership said recently government troops became in control over 50 percent of the region.
The United Nations, Iraqi generals and aid groups have accused IS of using civilians as human shields. Iraqi commanders said the practice was behind recent casualties in western Mosul blamed on coalition airstrikes.
ISIS executes 23 in Mosul
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State executed 23 civilians in western Mosul on Thursday for refusing to evacuate, and arrested a senior commander over treason.
Dijlah TV quoted eyewitnesses saying that an Islamic State firing squad shot dead 23 civilians from Ras al-Jada and Malaab areas in western Mosul for refusing to evacuate homes and move to other districts with the militants. The execution was carried out at Zanjili district in central Mosul, according to the witnesses.
ِAslo in central Mosul, a trainer at Mosul’s sports club and his wife were killed when a Kateyusha missile landed on their home in Deka Barka neighborhood, according to the channel.
Meanwhile, Alsumaria News quoted local sources saying the Islamic State arrested an elite commander of al-Farouq battalion and 20 other members in Tal Afar town, an IS stronghold west of Mosul. The source said those arrested were accused of “breaching the pledge of allegiance” to IS supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The source added that the arrest took place while the commander was arresting a leadership meeting.
Iraqi forces launched a major campaign in February to retaken western Mosul, having retaken the east in January. Iraqi commanders, aid groups and U.N bodies have accused IS of using civilians as human shields. Occasional news reports have highlighted internal divisions within IS ranks as the destiny of Baghdadi grew murkier.
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3 executed bodies found in Mosul
Captain Amir Watheq told BasNews that “security troops found three unidentified bodies in al-Karama and al-Quds, east of Mosul, on Thursday.”
“The bodies were blindfolded and had shots in the head,” the source said.
In related news, another security source said several citizens were killed and injured due to a missile shelling on a market located in western Mosul, the National News Center reported.
Speaking on condition of anonymity on Thursday, the source said, “Islamic State militants shot three missiles on al-Zohour market targeting women and children in east of Mosul.”
“The shelling left seven women and children killed and one woman severely wounded,” he said, adding that the victims were transferred to hospital in al-Zohour area.
Mosul is the Islamic State’s strongest stronghold in Iraq. Eastern Mosul was recaptured from IS in January, after a US-backed offensive was launched in October. A new offensive started in February to retake the west. The government troops have recently pushed deeper into the Old City, a densely-populated and -structured area which military officials view as central to the desired victory over IS militants.
Battles in the west are believed to be much more difficult due to the density of residential areas and the high number of civilians who the commanders believe are used as human shields by IS members.
18K kidz recruited by ISIS in Iraq
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Number of children who were recruited by the Islamic State fighters in Mosul have exceeded 18,000, according to a senior security source. Many of them resorted to refugee camps with their families.
Speaking to Al-Ghad Press on Thursday, the source said that IS recruited more than 18,000 children below the age of 18 years old through mobilization of the school students.
Security troops obtained the full names of those recruited by IS, he said, adding that university students were forcibly divided among different specializations that serve IS purposes in Mosul.
“The security committee in charge of reviewing the situation in Mosul revealed that thousands of recruited children are there among displaced families,” he said indicating follow up on them to seeking rehabilitation in coordination with religious endowments and education ministries.
IS recruits children to carry out terrorist and suicide attacks.
Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights reported earlier this week that 197 children have been taken hostage by the IS militants near al-Nouri Grand Mosque in west Mosul where the Iraqi troops have closed in on the militant group.
Mosul is the Islamic State’s strongest stronghold in Iraq. Eastern Mosul was recaptured from IS in January, after a US-backed offensive was launched in October. A new offensive started in February to retake the west.
Gunman attack ISIS militants residences with grenades
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province informed that the houses of three members of the Islamic State group were attacked with hand grenades in Tal Afar District, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Thursday.
The source said, “Today, unidentified gunmen attacked, using hand grenades, houses of three members of the Islamic State in a residential neighborhood in Tal Afar District, west of Mosul, resulting in the burning of two vehicles, as well as inflicting material losses on the houses.”
“The incident is the first of its kind,” the source added on condition of anonymity. “The Islamic State imposed a curfew in the area, and started extensive search operations in the residential neighborhood,” the source further explained.