Isis fighters ordered to kill women and children if they try to escape, says former militant

'People tried to flee, because of the conditions in Mosul, to Kurdistan or Baghdad but they would be blown up by IEDs and if they weren't they'd be shot at even if they were kids'

Lucy Pasha-Robinson

Saturday 29 October 2016 09:47

A flag belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) along a street in the city of Mosul

(Reuters)

Isis jihadis are shooting women and children who try to flee areas under its control, according to a former fighter.

Abu Ahmed told how he was ordered to shoot to kill to deter others from trying to escape.

The former militant, who is being held by Kurdish forces, said people were desperate to escape the group’s brutal regime.

“The thing people care about the most is their children. The hardest thing for anybody to see is their child being hurt, even if it's not with a weapon, but Isis are going to use guns on children,” he told Sky News.

“People tried to flee, because of the conditions in Mosul, to Kurdistan or Baghdad but they would be blown up by IEDs and if they weren't they'd be shot at even if they were kids.”

Up to 900 Isis fighters were killed this week in the offensive to retake Mosul in northern Iraq, a stronghold of great strategic importance which the group captured in 2014.

Many Iraqis who fled their homes celebrated their escape, with some being reunited with relatives from whom they were separated when Isis took control.

Crowds were jubilant in Fadhiliya, 10 miles east of Mosul, as a shopkeeper arrived with the first supplies of cigarettes for two years.

However, one resident who gave his name as Hamza, a former translator for the US military, said he feared Isis would come back.

“We are happy but we are also very scared – for the last two years I stayed in my house because I feared they would hurt or kill me as an unbeliever,” he told Sky News.

Iraq's Ministry of Displacement and Migration said on Thursday that more than 11,700 people had been displaced since the operation began on 17 October.

In pictures: Mosul offensive

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1/40In pictures: Mosul offensive

A doctor carries an Iraqi newborn baby at a hospital in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017.

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Iraqi girls play at a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017alal

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A woman on crutches who is a relative of men accused of being Islamic State militants is seen at a camp in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq July 15, 2017. Picture taken July 15, 2017.

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A displaced girl, who fled from home carries a doll at Hamam al-Alil camp south of Mosul, Iraq July 13, 2017.

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Iraqi federal police members and civilians celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on 9 July 2017 after the government's announcement of the "liberation" of the embattled city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said he was in "liberated" Mosul to congratulate "the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory"

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A picture taken on 9 July 2017, shows a general view of the destruction in Mosul's Old City. Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul from jihadists, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in the city.

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Members of the Iraqi federal police raise the victory gesture as they ride on a humvee while advancing through the Old City of Mosul on 28 June 2017, as the offensive continues to retake the last district held by Islamic State (IS) group fighters.

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Smoke billows as Iraqi forces advance through the Old City of Mosul on 26 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the Islamic State (IS) group.

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An Iraqi man wearing the green scarf of the Shi'ite faith kisses an Iraqi Army soldier on safely reaching the Iraqi forces position as Iraqi civilians flee the Old City of west Mosul where heavy fighting continues on 23 June 2017. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance with improvised explosive devices, car bombs, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance.

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A picture taken from the inside of an Iraqi forces armoured vehicle shows residents walking through a damaged street as troops advance towards Mosul's Old City on 18 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group. Military commanders told AFP the assault had begun at dawn after overnight air strikes by the US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces. They said the jihadists were putting up fierce resistance.

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Iraqi Army soldiers advance in a destroyed street after an Iraqi forces airstrike targeted an Islamic State sniper position 17 June 2017 in al-Shifa, the last district of west Mosul under Islamic State control. IS snipers, as well as car and suicide bomb attacks continue to hinder the Iraqi forces efforts to retake the final district. A series of airstrikes by Iraqi helicopter gunships attempted to hit multiple Islamic State sniper positions in al-Shifa.

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An Iraqi soldier frisks a displaced Iraqi man at a temporary camp in the compound of the closed Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on 16 June 2017 which was recovered by Iraqi troops from Islamic State group fighters earlier in the year. A screening centre set up in the compound's fairgrounds sees a constant stream of Iraqis fleeing the battle for Mosul, awaiting their turn to be checked by the Iraqi forces who are searching for suspected Islamic State (IS) group members. The small fairground lies at the end of a pontoon bridge across the Tigris recently opened to civilians that is the only physical link between the two banks of the river.

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Iraqis staying at the al-Khazir camp swim in a river near the camp for internally displaced people, located between Arbil and Mosul on 11 June 2017.

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Iraqi government forces drive on a road leading to Tal Afar on 9 June 2017, during ongoing battles to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters.

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An Iraqi policeman carries a poster bearing an image of Mosul's iconic leaning minaret, known as the "Hadba" (Hunchback), on 22 June 2017.

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Iraqis stand in line to receive food aid in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood on 7 June 2017, during ongoing battles as Iraqi forces try to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Living conditions in Mosul have again deteriorated since the start of the Iraqi government's offensive on the city in October in which they retook a large part of the west of the city.

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Displaced Iraqis carry lightbulbs and sacks as they evacuate from western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood as government forces advance in the area during their ongoing battle against Islamic State (IS) group fighters on 13 May 2017

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A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) flashes the victory gesture as he patrols in western Mosul's al-Islah al-Zaraye neighbourhood on 13 May 2017

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Iraqi army soldiers from the 9th armoured division on a truck flash the sign of victory as they drive back from Mosul to the town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya)

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Members of Iraqi forces flash the sign of victory on their vehicle as they advance towards Hammam al-Alil area south of Mosul

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A member of Iraqi security forces gestures in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq

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Iraqi children, one flashing the sign of victory, greet Iraqi army's soldiers from the 9th armoured division in the area of Ali Rash, adjacent to the eastern Al-Intissar neighbourhood of Mosul

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Peshmerga forces look at a tunnel used by Islamic State militants near the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq

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An Iraqi soldier takes a photograph with his phone as his comrade stands next to a detained man, whom the Iraqi army soldiers accused of being an Islamic State fighter, who was fleeing with his family in the Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, Iraq

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Iranian Kurdish female members of the Freedom Party of Kurdistan (PAK) hold a position in an area near the town of Bashiqa, some 25 kilometres north east of Mosul

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Iraqi families, who fled their homes in Hamam al-Alil, gather on the outskirts of their town

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Displaced people walk past a checkpoint near Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq

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Iraqi families who were displaced by the ongoing operation by Iraqi forces against jihadists of the Islamic State group to retake the city of Mosul, are seen gathering in an area near Qayyarah

A boy who just fled Abu Jarbuah village is seen with his family at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq

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An Iraqi child eats a pomegranate upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul

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People who just fled Abu Jarbuah village sit as they eat at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq

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A couple who just fled Abu Jarbuah village are escorted by Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers

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Women carry a boy over a wall as civilians flee their houses in the village of Tob Zawa, Iraq

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An Iraqi soldier and a civilian ride a motorbike as smoke rises behind them, on the road between Qayyarah and Mosul

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A member of Iraqi forces, wearing a skull mask, waits at a checkpoint for people fleeing the main hub city of Mosul

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An Iraqi soldier sits at a checkpoint in an area near Qayyarah

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Iraqi men prepare food portions for Iraqi forces deployed in areas south of Mosul

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Iraqi forces celebrate upon the arrival of vehicles bringing food to them

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Iraqi childen smoke cigarettes upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul

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A member of Iraqi forces distributes drinks to children in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul

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Fears are growing for those trapped in the city with some reports suggesting Isis is using hostages as “human shields”.

“Isil's [Isis] depraved, cowardly strategy is to attempt to use the presence of civilian hostages to render certain points, areas, or military forces immune from military operations – effectively using tens of thousands of women, men and children as human shields,” said United Nations (UN) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.

The UN has warned more than 200,000 civilians could be displaced in the battle.

Reports suggest Iraqi forces have reclaimed 40 villages bordering Mosul from Isis since fighting began.

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