Islamic State fighters forced thousands of civilians to retreat with them from Hamam al-Alil as Iraqi police were recapturing the town, and moved them towards Mosul airport, the UN said Tuesday. Iraqi forces retook the key town from the jihadists on Monday, in a major win in its offensive to wrest back the nearby city of Mosul.
But the IS fighters did not leave the town alone: UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva the agency had received reports that the jihadists "forcibly moved about 1,500 families from Hamam al-Alil town to Mosul airport" on November 4. The UN has for weeks warned that IS was forcing civilians living in districts around Mosul into Iraq's second city, hoping to use them as human shields in an upcoming battle. Shamdasani also said the rights office had received information that the jihadists had "abducted at least 295 former Iraqi Security Forces personnel" from areas around Mosul.
"Between November 1-4, 195 former ISF personnel were reportedly abducted in several villages in Tel Afar, and at around midnight on November 3, at least 100 former ISF officers were abducted from Mawaly Village, about 20 kilometres west of Mosul," she said.
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