- Title: Iraqis continue to pour out of town south of Mosul
- Date: 6th November 2016
- Summary: HAMMAM AL-ALIL, SOUTH OF MOSUL, IRAQ (NOVEMBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PEOPLE WALKING DOWN ROAD FROM HAMMAM AL-ALIL MAN PUSHING ELDERLY WOMAN AND CHILD WITH BELONGINGS IN TROLLY MAN WALKING DOWN ROAD WITH CHILD ON SHOULDERS MORE OF DISPLACED PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FORMER RESIDENT OF HAMMAM AL-ALIL, HASSAN ABBAS, SAYING: "They treated us very poorly. We could not find a single meal to eat, they would stop us from working. We lived through something we have never seen before. Thank God that the forces arrived." VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES ON ROAD / SOUND OF SIRENS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FORMER RESIDENT OF HAMMAM AL-ALIL, MWAFFAQ ABBAS, SAYING: "God curse Daesh militants, may they never see a good day as long as they live. We have been treated very badly. I have been besieged and imprisoned for 25 days." HELICOPTER FLYING OVERHEAD VARIOUS OF SMOKE RISING IN DISTANCE / SMOKE COMING FROM BEHIND BUILDINGS DISPLACED PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH FIELD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ALONG ROAD
- Embargoed: 21st November 2016 17:08
- Keywords: Iraq Mosul Islamic State
- Location: HAMMAM AL-ALIL, SOUTH OF MOSUL, IRAQ
- City: HAMMAM AL-ALIL, SOUTH OF MOSUL, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00157B3MMF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Iraqis were leaving the town of Hammam al-Alil in large numbers on Sunday (November 6), a day after Iraqi forces forced Islamic State fighters out of the centre of the town.
The town lies about 15 km. (10 miles) south of Islamic State's main Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, which Iraqi special forces are fighting to take back in an offensive which started three weeks ago.
Fleeing residents recalled their life under Islamic State.
"They treated us very poorly. We could not find a single meal to eat, they would stop us from working. We lived through something we have never seen before. Thank God that the forces arrived," said Hassan Abbas.
"God curse Daesh militants, may they never see a good day as long as they live. We have been treated very badly. I have been besieged and imprisoned for 25 days," said another resident Mwaffaq Abbas.
On Saturday, security forces said they were in control of the centre of Hammam al-Alil, although did not say whether the militants had been pushed out completely.
The advance on the southern front comes days after Iraqi forces fought their way into the eastern side of Mosul, taking control of six neighbourhoods according to Iraqi officials and restoring a foothold in the city for the first time since the army retreated ignominiously two years ago.
The assault on Hammam al-Alil targeted a force of at least 70 Islamic State fighters, commander of the Mosul operations Major-General Najm al-Jabouri said.
The United Nations said the militants transported 1,600 abducted civilians from Hammam al-Alil to the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, on Tuesday (November 1) and took another 150 families from the town to Mosul the next day.
They told residents to hand over children, especially boys aged over nine, in an apparent recruitment drive for child soldiers, U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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