Islamic State execute 27 civilian prisoners in Kirkuk

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants have executed 27 civilians in their Kirkuk stronghold, the last of a series of occasional executions of Iraqis in their grip.

A local source told Alsumaria News Wednesday that the execution took place at al-Bakkara military base in Hawija, southwest Kirkuk.

The source, who said the militant group had set on a series of executions of non-compliant prisoners recently, did not explain the reason for the latest incident.

Since IS militants took over large parts of Iraq in 2014 to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate”, they executed thousands of civilians for a variety of reasons ranging from collaboration with security forces to escaping group havens and violating the group’s religious directives.

Hawija is one of the future targets of Iraqi military offensives. The government declared early July it regained control over the city of Mosul, the militants’ former capital.

Local tribal leaders and politicians from Kirkuk have mounted pressure on the Iraqi government to hasten with invading Hawija, 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 government and military commanders have set Nineveh’s town of Tal Afar as the next target for operations.