Iraqi relief workers recover bodies of 75 people in Mosul’s Old City
A displaced Iraqi man who fled from clashes, carries children in western Mosul, Iraq, June 3, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi relief workers recovered on Tuesday bodies of 75 people who were buried under the rubble of destroyed homes in the western side of Mosul’s Old City.
The civil defense directorate in Nineveh told Al-Aan online newspaper that the recovered bodies were found in Shaikh Ibrahim, Jamea’ al-Masfa and al-Qulaiat districts in Mosul’s Old City.
On Friday, Nofal al-Aakob, the governor of Nineveh, declared the Old City in Mosul empty of bodies under the rubble.
“The civil defense department as well as others managed to recover all the bodies under the rubble in the Old City. No more bodies are there,” Aakob told reporters.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced in July liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.
Hundreds of Iraqi civilians died during the battles between Islamic State militants and U.S.-backed Iraqi forces.
While the U.S.-led coalition had admitted causing civilian casualties in some occasions, Iraqi forces repeatedly denied involvement in botched strikes, with commanders reiterating civilians’ safety. Islamic State militants had also targeted and executed civilians who fled the battle fields.