Iraqi forces counter abuse claims

An Iraqi commander has said allegations an elite interior ministry unit fighting the Islamic State group in Mosul abused civilian detainees are “incorrect”.

Abdul Amir al-muhammadawi, spokesman for the Emergency Response Division, said yesterday his unit released two videos of interviews with civilians allegedly tortured in which they refute the report by Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine. The report, by an Iraqi photographer embedded with the unit, claims he witnessed killing, torture and rape of IS suspects.

The interior ministry announced the launch of an investigation.