Iraqi jets drop leaflets in Shirqat, south Mosul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iraqi warplanes dropped leaflets on Saturday evening in the Islamic State (IS)-controlled town of al-Shirqat and Az-Zuwiyah village in Iraq.

Iraqi Joint Special Operation Command revealed Iraqi air forces had flown over Shirqat and Zuwiyah village in the south of Mosul and dropped leaflets for civilians.

The leaflets urged the residents to leave the area and to avoid IS positions.

IS usually uses civilians as human shields when defending against security force attacks.

The latest clashes in the city of Manbij in north Syria were an example where the group took thousands of civilian’s hostage to escape from the city.

The Iraqi forces are targeting the insurgent group’s bases in the area and want to prevent the deaths of as many innocent people as possible.

Moreover, besides helping Iraqi security forces uncover IS locations inside Shirqat and Zuwiyah, the leaflets ask civilians to carry their national IDs when fleeing from the area.

Shirqat is a Sunni-populated town located in the north of Salahaddin Province.

The town is 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Mosul. Zuwaiyah is 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Shirqat.

Both have been under the control of IS since June 2014.

On Aug. 25, Iraqi security forces liberated the key town of Qayyarah from IS.

The town was one of the finance sources for the jihadist group as it contained several oil wells inside.

IS recently detonated a few oil wells before abandoning the town, and the black oil continues to flow in the neighborhoods as a result.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany