Friday, March 29, 2024

Baghdad

Parliamentarian says Iraqi soldiers release IS militants in Mosul in return for money

 Parliamentarian says Iraqi soldiers release IS militants in Mosul in return for money

MP Alia Nassif.

MP Alia Nassif.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) An Iraqi parliament member accused Monday some Iraqi security members of setting Islamic State captives free in return for money, urging intervention by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

“While accurate statistics of the numbers and nationalities of Daesh (IS) members arrested in Mosul are lacking, some weak-spirited security members release some of them in return for money,” Alia Nassif, an outspoken MP from al-Islah (Reform) Front, said in a statement.

She said the alleged releases occur even if the militants are caught red-handed.

“Where is oversight over prisons, the numbers and locations of which we do not know? How come that the bloods of innocent Iraqis go in vain as murderers are set free so easily?,” Nassif wondered, urging the prime minister to personally order a high-level probe into the information.

No comment has yet been made from the Iraqi government or security command.

The Iraqi troops, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and allied paramilitary forces, have been battling IS in Mosul since October, having recaptured the eastern side in January and continuing to clear the western side. Coalition officials have estimated the remaining number of militants by 1000 maximum, and had predicted the battle to realize victory in the west within six months.

Leave a Reply