New evidence suggests Kurdish security forces carried out mass executions of suspected “Islamic State” (IS) fighters in northern Iraq in mid-2017, Human Rights Watch said Friday. The watchdog said peshmerga fighters executed prisoners at two separate locations from August 28 to September 3 after detaining them at a school in Sahel al-Maliha, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Mosul. “The evidence suggests that Asayish [Kurdish] security forces conducted mass executions of captured ISIS suspects night after night for a week, perhaps killing scores or even hundreds of male detainees,” said Deputy Middle East Director Lama Fakih, using an alternate acronym for the group. The human rights group drew on statements from a retired security force member close to the peshmerga fighters, photographic evidence and satellite imagery to support the accusation. “Iraqi and KRG authorities should urgently and transparently investigate the allegations of mass executions and hold those responsible to account,” Fakih said.

Source: Egypt Independent February 09, 2018 15:45 UTC