Fighting Continues in Khalidiya; 189 Killed in Iraq
Iraqi Special Forces launched
a major operation against Qayara on Tuesday. Troops are working
with armed residents within the city and say that many militants have already
fled Qayara. Large sections of the town were easily recaptured.
Albu Bali has been recaptured.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR warned that
hundreds of thousands of people will be displaced
from Mosul when troops launch an operation to liberate the city.
The U.N. also accused
Iraq of carrying out executions with giving the condemned proper trials. Human
Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also issued
criticisms.
The Iraqi government does not release accurate casualty
figures for security personnel, but the cemetery in the holy city of Najaf
has reported
that burials there increased by about 80 per day when the Islamic State invaded
Iraq. Many of those were Shi’ite militiamen fighting against ISIS/Daesh.
Their deaths go unreported in the media.
Analysts from Reuters have found that the United States
has not
acknowledged the true number of victims tortured or killed by Shi’ite
militiamen in the recently liberated city of Fallujah. At least 700
Sunni men are still missing.
At least 189 people were killed
and seven more wounded:
Near Hawija, a roadside
bomb killed
six people and wounded five more, who were all fleeing militant territory.
A sniper killed
an army officer and wounded two soldiers at a checkpoint in Latifiya.
In Khalidiya Island,
security forces killed
150 militants. A mass grave containing the bodies
of 20 militants was found.
Using flamethrowers, militants executed
six of their own in Tal Afar.
An airstrike killed
five prominent militants in Hadar.
In Mosul, gunmen killed
a militant known for recruiting children.
Scores of militants were killed in the Qayara
operation, including a leader.