About 31 civilians killed by extremist militia in Iraq

Thirty one civilians were killed during shelling by Islamic State on a district recently liberated from the extremist militia near its key stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq. Col. Dureed Saeed, Iraqi army officer, said on Thursday in Baghdad that the dead in the attack on the neighbourhood of Bakr east of Mosul included eight children. He said […]

Thirty one civilians were killed during shelling by Islamic State on a district recently liberated from the extremist militia near its key stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq.

Col. Dureed Saeed, Iraqi army officer, said on Thursday in Baghdad that the dead in the attack on the neighbourhood of Bakr east of Mosul included eight children.

He said after the shelling, army forces evacuated other civilians from the district to other safer areas.

“The Iraqi forces continue their progress inside residential areas east of Mosul after they faced fierce resistance from Daesh elements.

A report said that on Oct. 17, government forces, backed by U.S.-led air power, started a long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, from Islamic State.

It said following initial advances, the drive has been slowed by Islamic State’s use of suicide car bombings and sniper fire.

Mosul has been under Islamic State control since mid-2014.

In recent months, the al-Qaeda splinter group has suffered military setbacks and lost grounds in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.