UN: ISIS has killed more than 200 civilians in Mosul
The US said that as many as 900 Islamic State militants were killed so far in the attempt to retake Mosul.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: OCTOBER 28, 2016 14:56Tanks move past soldiers in military fatigues as the sun begins to set east of Mosul, where the Iraqi government launched a US-backed offensive to drive Islamic State from the northern city, in this still image taken from video released October 17, 2016(photo credit: REUTERS)
"Last Wednesday 232 civilians were reportedly shot to death," Ravina Shamdasani, the UN rights office spokeswoman stated to reporters in Geneva, according to The Independent."Of these there were 190 former Iraqi Security Forces officers," Shamdasani explained. "These reports have been corroborated to the extent possible."The numbers could be higher now she stressed.The US said that as many as 900 Islamic State militants were killed so far in the attempt to retake Mosul.The offensive that started on Oct. 17 to capture Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.With air and ground support from the US-led coalition, Iraqi government forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters captured about 50 villages south, east and north of Mosul, according to military statements.Roughly 5,000 US personnel are in Iraq. More than 100 of them are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive, advising commanders and helping ensure coalition air power hits the right targets.The fall of Mosul would signal the defeat of the ultra-hardline Sunni jihadists in Iraq but could also lead to land grabs and sectarian bloodletting between groups that fought one another after the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein.