Islamic State burn 8, including infant, for escaping Hawija

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants burned to death eight civilians, including an infant, for attempting to flee the group’s stronghold in southwestern Kirkuk.

A security source told Alsumaria News on Thursday that the militants had arrested the eight civilians, including two parents and their enfant, before the execution.

The victims were heading to al-Alam region in neighboring Salahuddin province, according to the source.

The militants caged the victims and poured tar on them before setting them on fire, the source added.

Islamic State militants have held areas in southwestern Kirkuk since 2014, when they declared a “caliphate” rule on a third of Iraq and Syria. Since then, militants have executed hundreds of security agents and civilians collaborating with security troops, besides executing civilians attempting to flee the enclave.

Local tribal leaders and politicians from Kirkuk have mounted pressure on the Iraqi government to hasten with invading Hawija, the group’s largest stronghold in the southwest of the province, suggesting that its people were experiencing a humanitarian crisis under the group’s rule as the group continues to massacre civilians attempting to flee the town. The Iraqi government and paramilitary troops are currently focused on recapturing Nineveh’s town of Tal Afar.