Islamic State execute 3 in Kirkuk, arrest 5 in Mosul
An ISIS leader reading out an execution order in Iraq. File Photo
Iraqi police sources were quoted as saying that the extremist group executed three young men in al-Abbasi area, hawija, west of Kirkuk, accusing them of collaboration with security authorities, a charge based on which the group sentenced dozens of Iraqis to death since it took over several cities in the country in 2014.
The trio was executed by a firing squad, the source added.
Several areas in western Kirkuk are still in IS hold, and the situation there has forced thousands to flee their homes to refugee camps.
In Mosul, the group’s militants detained five men for possessing some of the “consolation letters” air-dropped by Iraqi forces on the city. The source revealed that IS had prohibited the possession of the letters which Iraqi forces used to drop from aircraft to morally support civilians stranded in the city and to assure of near victory over IS.
IS has been infamous for executing civilians who disobey its restrictions, and has been accused by aid and rights groups of targeting civilians attempting to flee the city which the group had previously designated as the capital of its self-styled “Islamic Caliphate”.
Difficult living conditions and the life threats under IS have prompted nearly 137.000 to leave Mosul since the start of military operations to retake the city last October.