Islamic State execute 12 in Kirkuk: Kurdish security
ISIS executed men in Hawija by firing squad.
The prisoners were executed at a road leading to Islamic State’s stronghold town of Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk, according to the statement.
The statement added that the victims were shot dead by a firing squad in the presence of IS’s security official, Saadoun al-Hemeiri.
It, however, did not mention the reason for the execution.
Islamic State held Hawija since 2014, when the group declared an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. Since then, the group executed hundreds of civilians accusing them of collaboration with security forces, attempting to flee areas under the group’s control and violating its extreme religious rules. Dozens of mass graves containing the dead bodies of IS executions have been discovered since 2014.
The Iraqi government is expected to launch security campaigns to retake Islamic State pockets in provinces including Kirkuk after it concludes a U.S.-backed campaign in Mosul, Islamic State’s largest stronghold in Iraq where the offensive entered a fifth month.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) has said that violence in the country left 1115 casualties, excluding security members, during March.