Daesh executes dozens of prisoners near Mosul, officials say

Daesh militants have in recent days executed dozens of prisoners taken from villages the group has been forced to abandon by an Iraqi army advance on the city of Mosul, officials in the region said on Wednesday.

Reuters news agency cited Abdul Rahman al-Waggaa, a member of the Nineveh provincial council, who reportedly said that most of those killed were former members of the Iraqi police and army who had lived in areas under Daesh control south of Mosul.

The militants forced them to leave their homes with their families, and took them to the town of Hammam Al-Alil, 15km south of Mosul, where the executions took place, he said, quoting the testimony of remaining residents of the villages and people displaced from the area who claim the men were shot dead.

The executions were meant "to terrorise the others, those who are in Mosul in particular", and also to get rid of the prisoners, he said.

Separately, Hoshiyar Zebari, an influential Kurdish politician, said that at least 65 people had been executed by Daesh south of Mosul three days ago.