Police and soldiers killed as IS tries to ward off uprising
ISLAMIC State (IS) has begun killing dozens of former Iraqi policemen and soldiers living in areas under its control, in a bid to ward off any uprising against its extremist rule, say officials.
Former officers have been gunned down in their homes, rounded up and shot in groups or killed in public squares as an example to others in recent weeks, particularly in Mosul, the largest city in the territory bridging Iraq and neighbouring Syria that the militant group controls.
The campaign appears to be aimed at shoring up the extremists’ hold at a time when it is being hit by the United Statesled international air campaign and has lost ground to Kurdish fighters and Shia militias.
In one recent killing, IS gunmen stormed the home of former police colonel Mohammed Hassan, in Mosul. Mr Hassan and his son fought back, killing three attackers, before they were gunned down.
The militants then hung his mutilated body from a fence for several days near his home as an example, according to two residents who saw the battle.
Mr Hassan was among a number of Sunnis in the security forces who surrendered, handed over their weapons and pledged to cut ties with the police when IS overran Mosul in June.
Military spokesman BrigadierGeneral Saad Maan Ibrahim said anti-IS groups had been formed in Mosul.
Brig-Gen Maan added that, whether they were part of armed groups or not, former police and army officers were a potential threat to the militants because they “have the expertise on how to plan an armed uprising and they have good knowledge of weapons and military operation”.