Protecting defenseless

The militants of the "Islamic state" took hostages of 1600 civilians of the Iraqi city of Mosul and use them as a living shield during bombing. This is stated in the message of the UN News Center.

The press secretary of the Office of the Supreme Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said that the terrorists of the IS continue the mass executions of hostages. "So, the UN received information about the murder of 180 former civil servants in the eastern suburb of Mosul Kajali. There are fears that the terrorists may have killed about 200 people in Mosul itself. Now they are trying to verify this information in the administration," the report said.

In addition, there are reports that IS took out 150 families from the city of Hammam al-Alil to Mosul. Extremists use loudspeakers, ordering the inhabitants of nearby villages to leave things from houses, threatening the reprisals of those who do not obey.

Shamdasani also said that terrorists are forcibly taking children aged 9-10 years and use them as militants in Mosul.

On October 17, Iraq Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced the beginning of the operation to release Mosul . A week later, on the 23rd, it was reported that government troops entrenched 5 kilometers from the city .

On Tuesday, units of the Iraqi government forces and Shiite militia entered the eastern outskirts of Mosul . By the middle of the day, it was possible to knock out the fighters of the IG from the building of the television center. The Iraqi Panzer Division moves to Mosul after the Shiite militias from the east. Other units and Shiite police come from the south. The detachments of the Kurdish army of Peshmerga attack Mosul from the north. Upon -growing troops use heavy weapons, they are supported by coalition aircraft.

The militants of the Islamic State have fierce resistance. They fire from grenade launchers and small arms.

On Thursday, the offensive was suspended due to weather conditions that did not allow the use of aviation. On Friday, it resumed. The military came out of the eastern suburb of Gogjali and advanced to the cemetery located west. Soon there were clashes with terrorists.

Mosul has been under the control of IS for more than two years. It was after the capture of the Mosul that the leader of the Islamic state of Iraq and Levant "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his group by the World Caliphate. He made such a statement in a large mosque in the city on June 29, 2014.

According to the security forces, the liberation of Mosul will be the largest military operation in the country since 2003, when the West with his invasion of Irak overthrew the dictator Saddam Hussein. Fighting can drag on for weeks, if not for months, the military is warned.