Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi admitted that some Iraqi security forces committed abuses against civilians in Mosul. The allegations first appeared in a German newsmagazine after a reporter, who was embedded with the Interior Ministry’s elite Emergency Response Division, witnessed the crimes. The reporter has now fled Iraq in fear. Members of the Interior Ministry have, in the past, been repeatedly accused of abuses.
The massive amount of leftover ordnance in Mosul and long-standing U.S. policy has made it necessary for the United States military to assist Iraqi experts in locating dropped bombs and other explosives. Historically, the U.S. has kept the location of unexploded U.S. ordnance a secret. However, this expectation is unreasonable for a large, populated city such as Mosul. Islamic State militants have also left a high number of booby-traps behind. By some estimates, it could take 25 years to completely clear the city. It is only one of the many problems faced by those who will rebuild Mosul.
At least 50 were killed and six were wounded in recent violence:
Three boys were executed in Qaim after refusing to join the militancy. They were all under 15 years of age.
Militiamen killed seven militants trying to escape Tal Afar. An airstrike collapsed a tunnel, killing 12 militants.
In Metabijh, a strike killed 12 militants.
Airstrikes in the Hamrin Basin killed 10 militants.
A bomb-laden donkey killed three militants and wounded five more in Rashad.
Security forces killed a militant in Jalawla.
North of Mosul, security forces killed one militant and wounded another. Another militant was killed in the city.
