MOSUL: Iraqi forces recaptured a prison northwest of Mosul where Daesh reportedly executed hundreds of people and held captured Yazidi women, the military said on Wednesday.
Iraqi special forces units are spearheading the operation to retake west Mosul, which began on Feb. 19, while soldiers and pro-government paramilitaries are fighting Daesh in areas outside the city.
Forces from Iraq’s 9th Armored Division and the Furqat Al-Abbas paramilitary group recaptured Badush prison, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
It did not specify whether anyone was still being held inside the prison when it was retaken.
According to Human Rights Watch, Daesh gunmen executed up to 600 inmates from Badush prison on June 10, 2014, forcing them to kneel along a nearby ravine before pushing them in and setting fire to the bodies.
And Iraqi lawmaker Vian Dakhil said that year that the terrorists were holding more than 500 Yazidi women at Badush.
Daesh targeted the Yazidi religious minority in a brutal campaign of executions, kidnapping and rape, killing men and holding women and girls as sex slaves.
Iraqi forces worked to clear bombs and flush out any remaining militants in retaken areas to set the stage for an offensive against the Old City.
Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi vowed he would “not hesitate” to strike terrorists in neighboring countries as well if they posed a threat, after Iraq carried out air raids in Syria last month.
The battle for the Old City may see some of the toughest fighting in west Mosul.
“The liberation of the city center is a first and very important step for beginning the liberation of the Old City,” said Lt. Col. Abdulamir Al-Mohammedawi of the elite Rapid Response Division, referring to an area near the Old City that Iraqi forces have recaptured in recent days.
“The Old City is a very difficult area” of narrow streets and closely spaced houses, he said.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said heavy Russian bombing struck Daesh positions near the town of Al-Khafsah, where regime forces retook a key water pumping station the day before.
A correspondent saw dozens of trucks and cars full of suitcases and bedding waiting on the road between Al-Khafsah and the town of Manbij.
“The shelling began and we fled — wherever we found somewhere safe, we’d settle there,” said Abu Hammoud, an elderly man who left his home near the pumping station.
“We need help for the children. They’re sleeping in the open air. There’s no food here. Everyone can see us, but no one is doing anything.”
We will take out terrorists outside Iraq if they pose threat, warns premier
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