The Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq burned 15 civilians to death, including children, after they were caught trying to escape from the so-called “land of the caliphate,” a security source has told an Iraqi media outlet.
As ISIS continues to lose ground and suffer huge losses in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul at the hands of Iraqi-led coalition liberation troops, the militants have been cracking down forcefully on residents fleeing from its various territories.
About two hours southeast of Mosul is the IS stronghold of Kirkuk, a town that members of three Iraqi families were recently caught fleeing from.
According to Iraqi News, an unnamed security source told the Iraqi satellite media outlet Alsumaria that the civilians were discovered on the roadside by IS and taken to the town of Hawija, about an hour west of Kirkuk, to be publicly executed.
“Daesh militants have burned to death 15 civilians belonging to three families from al-Shajarah village in Hawija,” the source said.
The source explained that the victims were covered in tar and then lit on fire. The militants warned onlookers that they would face a similar fate if they tried to escape from the IS stronghold.
Iraqi News reports that IS barred the victims from leaving central Kirkuk and the surrounding areas of the Saladin province.
The execution of the three families comes after it was reported last month that the terrorist group executed another family who tried to flee from Kirkuk. That family, which consisted of four children and a mother, was also burned to death in Hawija.
The militants allegedly tied up the mother and her children and then covered their bodies with oil before lighting them on fire. Full Report
