‘Scores of villagers’ executed by Isis as battle for Mosul intensifies

Iraqis living under Isis in and around Mosul have been subjected to horrific treatment by increasingly volatile fighters and are being used as human shields as US-backed Iraqi coalition forces draw closer to the city, the UN has said.

The international body’s human rights office said on Tuesday that preliminary reports have emerged of mass executions. Between 20 to 50 ex-police officers were shot on Sunday, spokesperson Rupert Colville said, as Isis attempts to quiet any signs of rebellion ahead of what is likely to be heavy fighting for control of Mosul.

Around 70 civilians who died from bullet wounds were discovered by security forces in the village of Tuloul Naser on 20 October, and 15 more were killed and their bodies thrown into a river in Safina, 30 miles (45 kilometres) south of Mosul.

The UN’s sources also said six men in Safina related to a tribal leader fighting against Isis were reportedly tied to the back of a vehicle and dragged around the village until they died.

Three women and three girls were shot and four more children injured because they did not move quickly enough during a forced relocation, the UN said, as one of the children had a disability.

Similar tactics have been used by Isis in their struggle to retain territory in Syria and Iraq in recent months.

The massive operation to retake Mosul – held by the jihadis since 2014 – began last Monday. While allied Sunni tribal fighters, Kurdish Peshmerga, Shiite militias and the Iraqi army have made steady gains towards the city on three fronts, retaking around 80 villages, their progress has been hampered by Isis suicide bombers, landmines, and counterattacks in Kirkuk, Rutba and Sinjar designed to draw focus and resources away from the main battle.

Aid agencies have warned that in a worst case scenario fighting could displace up to one million people – which humanitarian groups on the ground are not adequately prepared to cope with thanks to a severe funding shortfall.