Islamic State executes 5 civilians in Hawija

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Sarhad Qadir, the police director of the district and sub-district police branches in Kirkuk, in an interview, told K24 that Islamic State (IS) militants executed five civilians in Abbasi town near Hawija.

Qadir announced the recent crime against civilians by ISIS militants near Hawija. The police director stated the incident happened in Abbasi district, some 16 kilometers in the southwest of Hawija, where IS militants executed five civilians. The police director added, “they [IS jihadists] executed the civilians and then burned their corpses”.

This incident is not the first time IS extremists have committed war crimes against civilians in this region. Qadir told a K24 reporter, “Islamic State militants announced they suspected these civilians for providing intelligence information to security forces”.  The suspicion of IS jihadists in civilians' cooperation with security forces is reported to be the only reason for executing them and burning their bodies, the police director said.

The police director specified, “The name of the victims are Omar Salem Husein, Ahmad Tayeb Ahmad, Mustafa Khalaf Sair, Abdulrahman Iram and Tarfa Husein.” He did not specify more information about the identity of the victims.

In the same interview, he informed a K24 reporter about a series of military operations carried out by U.S.-led coalition warplanes near the same area where jihadists executed civilians. He stated the coalition jets targeted several IS bases including some inside Hawija. According to Qadir, Mazhuriya power plant, Hawija main terminal, and Bakariyan village were the main targets of the air-raid that resulted in the killing of more than 10 militants.