The victory of US-backed Iraqi forces in Mosul marked the biggest defeat for Islamic State, which is also under siege in the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa, its operational base. The top US general in Iraq said this week that security forces would rest and re-equip before moving on to Tal Afar, 65 km (40 miles) west of Mosul. Since the victory announcement, security forces have severely restricted media access to west Mosul, saying they need to remove or defuse explosive devices. Three other videos posted this week by the same account appear to show members of various Iraqi security forces beating men wearing ordinary clothes. Human Rights Watch also accused the security forces of forcibly relocating at least 170 families of alleged Islamic State members to a closed "rehabilitation camp" as a form of collective punishment.

Source: bd News24 July 14, 2017 14:48 UTC