IS abducts more than 200 near Mosul, retreats with thousands
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GENEVA - ISIS fighters abducted 295 former Iraqi Security Forces members near the militant stronghold of Mosul and also forced 1,500 families to retreat with them from Hammam al Alil town, the United Nations human rights organisation said on Tuesday.
The abductions took place last week as Iraqi government forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite militias backed by U.S.-led air strikes pushed an offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State.
"People forcibly moved or abducted, it appears, are either intended to be used as human shields or - depending on their perceived affiliations - killed," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
