Iraqi forces accused of unlawful killings in fight to recapture Mosul from Islamic State

The headless body was lying in a pool of blood in the street, partially covered by a tan blanket.

An Iraqi military commander said the man was one of eight Islamic State fighters killed while trying to infiltrate Mosul’s eastern Zahra neighborhood. But his  neck appeared to have been cleanly severed, raising questions about the commander’s account.

Allegations of extrajudicial killings by Iraqi government forces surfaced recently, nearly a month after the offensive to recapture this northern city began.

A video shared widely on social media Friday appears to show Iraqi men in uniforms shooting and then driving a tank over a youth they accuse of fighting for Islamic State.

It was not clear where the video was recorded, and its authenticity could not be verified. Iraqi officials said the uniformed men were from Islamic State, not the army.

“The video belongs to the Daesh mobs and it becomes clear through analyzing the scene, which shows individuals who wear non-military clothes, different from that worn by the Iraqi army,” Maj. Gen. Najim Jabouri said in a statement released by the Iraqi War Media Office, using an Arabic acronym for the extremists.

 

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