According to Kurdish intelligence reports, more than 40,000 civilians were killed during the operation to retake Mosul. Former Deputy Prime Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who has also held other ministerial posts disclosed the findings to columnist Patrick Coburn.
Zebari, a Kurd and native of Mosul, believes that many of these victims are still buried under the rubble. Furthermore, he blames artillery and rocket fire for a large number of the casualties. Another problem he addresses is the pervasive corruption among military forces. The practice of accepting bribes from Islamic State militants by some in the military has led their colleagues to perform extrajudicial executions to ensure militants are not allowed back on the streets. Of course, some of the killings, however, are merely payback. The large discrepancy between these estimated deaths and those already reported only underscore the effort Iraq has taken to hide the number of casualties. It is likely that the true extent of bloodshed will never be known.
South of Mosul, the village of Imam Gharbi was retaken.
At least 44 were killed and 15 were wounded:
In Mosul, a mass grave containing 17 execution victims was discovered. Eight civilians were killed and five were wounded when they returned to their booby-trapped houses in Najar.
Clashes in Rutba left two soldiers dead and five wounded.
In Baghdad, a bomb killed one person.
Four policemen were wounded by a shooter in Balad.
Militants executed a smuggler in Shirqat.
A bomb wounded a farmer in Tawakkul.
In Hadhar, at least a dozen militants were killed.
Three militants were killed in Sabah.
