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Tensions rise between Iraqi forces and civilians in Mosul

"Don't stop!" the Iraqi special forces lieutenant yelled as a wave of fleeing civilians trudged past his position in Mosul's Old City in the scorching heat. "Don't pretend you're tired! Keep going!" Nearby, dozens of women and children, their hands raised, dropped their bags for security forces to search. Keeping the crowd at a distance, […]

Susannah George reports for AP:

"Don't stop!" the Iraqi special forces lieutenant yelled as a wave of fleeing civilians trudged past his position in Mosul's Old City in the scorching heat. "Don't pretend you're tired! Keep going!" Nearby, dozens of women and children, their hands raised, dropped their bags for security forces to search. Keeping the crowd at a distance, the soldiers yelled at the women to roll up their sleeves and empty everything they were carrying.

"We know you're Daesh," the soldiers said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

Tensions have escalated in the final days of the battle for Mosul, as suicide bombings carried out mostly by women hiding among groups of civilians target Iraqi forces closing in on the last few hundred square meters (yards) of territory IS controls. At least one such attack struck Wednesday.