Continued Operations in Mosul; ISIS Executed Dozens

As heavy fighting continues for the liberation of Mosul, several Iraqi officials have announced that the group known as the 'Islamic State' executed dozens of people in the vicinity of Mosul in recent days. According to Iraqi officials, most of these individuals were those who had been captured by the 'Islamic State' from areas they were forced to abandon as Iraqi army forces advanced towards Mosul. Abdulrahman al-Wakaa, a member of the Nineveh Provincial Council, told Reuters that most of the executed were former members of the Iraqi army and police who lived in areas controlled by the 'Islamic State' in southern Mosul. Al-Wakaa continued, 'The militants forced these individuals to leave their homes with their families and then took them to the town of Hammam al-Alil, located 15 kilometers south of Mosul, where they executed the men.' According to some eyewitnesses, the victims were shot to death. Al-Wakaa added that the 'Islamic State' militants take several families with them from any village they are forced to retreat from. Hoshyar Zebari, an Iraqi Kurdish politician and former finance minister, also stated that the 'Islamic State' executed about 65 people south of Mosul. Zebari added, 'About a week ago, after a rebellion began in support of the army's operations, the militants took dozens of people hostage from two villages.' He mentioned that 20 of the executed individuals were from two villages located north of the Qayyarah area. He added that the families of the victims are held captive in Hammam al-Alil or Mosul. Previously, Robert Coleville, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, had stated that reports of the execution of dozens by the 'Islamic State' around Mosul had been received. He added that security forces found the bodies of 70 civilians in the homes of the village of Talul Nasser, located south of Mosul, last Thursday. He also reported that there were reports of around 50 former army and police personnel being executed on Sunday. Meanwhile, Peshmerga forces from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq continued their advance around the town of Bashiqa to intensify the siege and force the 'Islamic State' militants to surrender. The Peshmerga command announced that ISIS forces were driven out from several villages in the Nineveh plain. Currently, ISIS forces are entrenched in the town and village of al-Fadhiliyah, located west of Bashiqa, and the Peshmerga are attempting to clear these two areas from militant control. Bashiqa is located about 12 kilometers northeast of Mosul. On the other hand, the Iraqi army and the Counter-Terrorism Organization are working to liberate the town of Bashura, located southeast of Mosul, from the control of the 'Islamic State.' ISIS forces are showing fierce resistance in this town.