Daesh using human shields as forces gain ground in Mosul

Residents of Mosul said Daesh was using civilians as human shields as Iraqi and Kurdish forces captured outlying villages in their advance on the jihadists' stronghold.

Some 700,000 people are believed to remain in city, where up to 5,000 Daesh fighters face the third day of the operation to retake Mosul.

With attacking forces still between 20 and 50km away, residents reached by telephone by Reuters news agency said more than 100 families had started moving from southern and eastern suburbs most exposed to the offensive to more central parts of the city.

Daesh militants were reportedly preventing people from fleeing Mosul and one said they directed some towards buildings they had recently used themselves.

“It’s quite clear Daesh has started to use civilians as human shields by allowing families to stay in buildings likely to be targeted by air strikes," resident Abu Mahir said.

The fall of Mosul would signal the defeat of the ultra-hardline Sunni jihadists in Iraq but could also lead to land grabs and sectarian bloodletting between groups which fought one another after the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein.