Fear and hunger are driving an ever-growing number of Iraqi civilians into a camp in Hammam al-Alil, where they share harrowing tales of deadly violence and jihadist tyranny in Mosul. Some arrive at the displacement camp, the largest in the Mosul area, on foot, but most of them are crammed into buses and trucks, relieved … Read more
The number of people fleeing the fighting in the Iraqi city of Mosul is reaching new highs and the condition of the displaced civilians is deteriorating, an aid group said Saturday. Iraq forces are battling the Islamic State group in the western half of Mosul and nearing a final push to root out the jihadists … Read more
In the battle against jihadists in northern Iraq, the village of Sayramun was recaptured in February but remains as isolated as ever and crucially still has no drinking water. “There’s no water in the area,” Said Ahmed Fathi, a resident of the village nestled in a picturesque meander of the Tigris River but marooned in … Read more
Fighters have killed at least 10 off-duty Iraqi soldiers and injured another 20 in an ambush in a part of the country’s western Anbar province. Major Emad al-Dulaimi said on Monday that the attack occurred the night before near the town of Rutba. He said the assailants were armed with assault rifles and rockets. It … Read more
Hammam al-Alil’s sulphur springs and reopened spa have become a spot where the soldiers fighting in Mosul and the civilians fleeing it meet for a rare moment of relaxation. “We fight on the front line and we come here when we get leave,” said Sahad Mohammed Jaber, a 32-year-old member of a federal police artillery … Read more
The fighting in west Mosul has forced up to 15,000 people to flee their homes every day recently, straining humanitarian resources and leaving many in very difficult conditions. At the Hammam al-Alil camp for the displaced south of Mosul, hundreds of haggard-looking civilians spill out of buses escorted by the security forces all day long. … Read more
Surrounded by displaced Iraqis, Ahmad strides up and down a muddy stretch of land near Mosul, mobile phone in hand, desperately looking for his aunt and uncle. Dressed in an elegant grey coat over his tracksuit, the 27-year-old is hoping to see his relatives for the first time in six months after they fled west … Read more
Tens of thousands have flowed out of war-wracked Mosul in recent weeks, but Samir Hamid and 33 family members have decided to go against the tide to return home. “We stayed with relatives for a week and now we’re going back home,” says the father-of-five, who has travelled with his extended family from a small … Read more
A sea of tents stretches to the horizon at a camp for displaced near Mosul but Ahmed Hassan says he and 17 relatives have to sleep outside because there is no room. Tens of thousands of civilians have poured into camps set up around Mosul as Iraqi forces battle to retake the city from Islamic … Read more
Iraq’s interior ministry is holding over 1,200 men and boys suspected of ties to jihadists in “horrendous conditions” without charge at facilities south of Mosul, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Iraqi forces are fighting to retake second city Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group, recapturing its east before setting their sights on the smaller … Read more
The gunshot rang out as civilians tried to escape the west of Mosul, where Iraqi forces are battling jihadists, killing a father as he fled with his family. “The sniper shot him in the head. His family was all around him, the children and his wife, they were crying,” said Maysun, who saw the shooting … Read more
Iraqi security forces have discovered two mass graves near the city of Mosul containing around 250 bodies, police said Thursday. The graves were found near the town of Hammam al-Alil and were created by ISIS militants, Iraqi Federal Police Commander Brig. Gen. Faris Radhi Abbas told CNN. Their discovery follows the uncovering of 100 decapitated … Read more
The Iraqi prime minister has warned so-called Islamic State (IS) militants fighting in Mosul to lay down their weapons if they want to live, state media reports. Speaking on a visit to the front line to the east of the city, Haider al-Abadi said government-led forces “will not retreat and will not be broken”. He … Read more
Mosul is home to more than a million civilians. Iraq’s federal police forces and Iraqi army troops attacked the town of Hammam al-Alil southeast of Mosul as the Iraqi Air Force provided air cover Saturday morning, according to a statement from Iraq’s Joint Military Command. Iraqi troops are advancing from three fronts toward the town … Read more