Islamic State gunfires and bombs kill 28 civilians in Mosul’s Old City

Gunfire and landmines planted by Islamic State militants killed 28 civilians in western Mosul’s Old City on Sunday as operations continue to clear the last few meters held by the group.

Maj. Maan Omar, from the Nineveh police department, told BasNews that 28 civilians, including 13 children and seven elders, died from gunshots and IED explosions while fleeing al-Midan area in the Old City late Saturday.

Omar said the dead bodies of those civilians remain in the streets and alleyways of that area since then.

The United Nations warned last month that an increasing number of civilians were being targeted by Islamic State militants during the escape towards security-held areas in Mosul.

The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said last Thursday its forces regained control of the Grand Nuri Mosque where Islamic State declared a self-styled “caliphate” in 2014, a symbolic victory which the Iraqi government and military generals deemed a declaration of the collapse of the Islamic State’s rule in the country.

According to a monthly death count released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), Nineveh province topped the civilian death tally for the month of June with 289 deaths. A total of 411 deaths was counted during that month, besides 294 injuries.

Source: Iraqi News