Jihadists execute 50 former cops in Mosul

Geneva, Oct. 25: The United Nations on Tuesday said that it had received reports of dozens of execution-type killings by the Islamic State group (ISIS), including the slaying of 50 former police officers, as Iraqi troops close in on Mosul.

The allegations — which remain “preliminary” — have come from a range of civilian and government sources, who cannot be named for security reasons, said United Nations rights office spokesman Rupert Colville. The reported atrocities were perpetrated by the jihadists between Wednesday and Sunday, while Iraqi forces advanced towards Mosul, the last ISIS bastion in the country, Colville said. In a village called Safina, about 45 kilometres south of Mosul, ISIS was blamed for executing 15 civilians before throwing their bodies in a river, possibly to strike terror among other residents.