Thousands of Mosul Residents Still 'Missing'

A senior police official in Iraq has told the German news agency that there is no information regarding the fate of thousands of people from Mosul. Basim al-Hajer, a senior police official in the Nineveh province in northern Iraq, stated that elements linked to the group known as the Islamic State (ISIS) had detained over 11,000 civilians, mostly young individuals, in Mosul. Al-Hajer noted that 'there is no news about the fate of these individuals' and added that after the liberation of Mosul, the government and security forces, despite searching all tunnels and locations associated with this group, were unable to find these individuals. Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, is the center of Nineveh province, where ISIS declared its caliphate in 2014 by capturing the city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the recapture of this city from ISIS forces earlier this summer. The operation to retake Mosul was very costly, and airstrikes by the international coalition and suicide bombings by militants destroyed a large portion of the city's homes and government buildings. Families of thousands of those who are currently unaccounted for have urged the government to make efforts to clarify their fate. Sadiq Amin, the father of three security personnel, stated that his children have been missing since 2015. Anwar Maki is another individual whose wife and son have disappeared, and he told the German news agency that 'Iraqi forces have provided no evidence of their being alive or martyred.' The news of the disappearance of thousands of Mosul residents comes as the Iraqi army launched attacks against militants suspected of being linked to ISIS in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk on Sunday. According to sources who spoke with the German news agency, federal police and Hashd al-Shaabi forces, supported by air forces, are present in this operation in Kirkuk. These sources added that the recent campaign in Kirkuk began after information was received about the planning of remaining ISIS elements in Kirkuk. In recent weeks, militants suspected of collaborating with ISIS have carried out multiple attacks against security forces in areas in northwestern Kirkuk. Last month, Iraq also announced that it had launched a military operation in Anbar province near the Syrian border against ISIS targets. These developments come from Iraq, where about three months ago, in Azar, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the armed forces of the country on the announcement of the end of the war with the Islamic State (ISIS).