Retaken Mosul Towns Still Battle-Stricken, Await Aid
The bodies of two dead Islamic State fighters have been lying on the sidewalk in front of Muhammad Jassim's house in eastern Mosul for the past week. Both of the corpses were burned, abused and decapitated, one was partially covered by a pastel floral bed sheet. "This isn't something we want our children to see," […]Susannah George writes for AP:
The bodies of two dead Islamic State fighters have been lying on the sidewalk in front of Muhammad Jassim's house in eastern Mosul for the past week. Both of the corpses were burned, abused and decapitated, one was partially covered by a pastel floral bed sheet.
"This isn't something we want our children to see," Jassim said, coming out into the street to approach a group of Iraqi special forces officers touring the recent territorial gains. "I asked them to please take the bodies away, the smell is terrible."
As Iraqi forces settle into a routine of slow, steadier progress inside Mosul, more civilians remain trapped living along front lines for longer. Jassim's Mishraq neighborhood was declared liberated from IS nearly a week ago, but remains too dangerous for most aid groups to visit as it lies just a few hundred meters from ongoing clashes.
