Islamic State mortar fire kills civilians fleeing Mosul

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – At least seven civilians were killed and 23 wounded by Islamic State mortar shells as they tried to flee Mosul’s terrorist-controlled Zanjili district on Thursday, Iraqi police said.

Zanjili is part of the enclave that remains in the hands of Islamic State in the northern Iraqi city, alongside the Old City center and the Medical City hospitals complex.

US-backed Iraqi government forces retook eastern Mosul in January and began a new push on Saturday to capture the enclave where about 200,000 people are trapped, regularly dropping leaflets telling families to flee.

The wounded from Zanjili were taken to a field clinic, a police officer told Reuters, adding that more people could have been killed while trying to flee. They were part of the first group of civilians who have managed to escape.

Several dozen other civilians managed to reach government-held lines unhurt, using the same exit route, the officer said.

The population live in harrowing conditions in the Islamic State-held enclave, running low on food, water and medicine, and with limited access to hospitals, the United Nations said on Sunday.

The jihadists began moving their prisoners out of the Medical City district as Iraqi forces advanced, two residents who asked not to be identified said by phone.

Islamic State used basements in the Medical City as jails for former army and police officers and for people violating a code of conduct that forbids such activities as selling cigarettes and smoking.

Dozens of families living in Zanjili district were ordered into the Old City to prevent them escaping toward the Iraqi forces, a resident told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Mosul offensive, now in its eighth month, has taken much longer than expected, with Iraqi government advances slowed by the need to avoid civilian casualties.