Military media: IS militants, dressed as police, killed cheering civilians in Mosul

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants disguised as Iraqi police members killed welcoming civilians in western Mosul’s Old City, Iraqi military media said on Tuesday, repeating blame for the extremist group for civilian deaths during battles running in the city since October.

The Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Islamic State members dressed as Federal Police personnel opened fire Monday at a number of civilians in the Old City who cheered their arrival. It said the deaths, which took place at areas under IS control, included children and women.

The media outlet did not specify the number of casualties or the exact location of the incident, but Iraqi generals have accused IS of using civilians as human shields and fabricating reports about security forces’ involvement in civilian casualties, Last month, the Pentagon said it was going to investigate reports that its fighter jets killed more than 200 civilians in Mosul al-Jadida district.

Iraqi government troops, backed by a U.S.-led international military coalition, recaptured eastern Mosul in January, and launched another campaign in February to retake the western region. Iraqi commanders recently claimed the recapture of 70 percent of the western region, saying IS was only controlling less than seven percent of Iraqi territory.