Thousands of civilians at risk in Mosul crossfire
Civilian casualties are mounting during the Mosul operation, as thousands of people are stuck on the battlefield.
MOSUL, Iraq — Since the start of the highly anticipated Mosul offensive on Oct. 17, Iraqi security forces have received over 40,000 civilians fleeing eastern Mosul, according to a report published Nov. 9, by the Ministry of Displacement and Migration.
For two days, as Iraqi special forces battled Islamic State (IS) militants east of Mosul, Adib, who lives in the Intisar neighborhood in eastern Mosul, was trapped in the crossfire, unable to bury his brother's body as it began to decompose.
Finally, a group of people from his neighborhood offered to help him take advantage of a lull in the fighting to take the body to the nearby village of Sherzad, where they dug a grave and laid him to rest.
"The army liberated us but IS placed an [improvised explosive device] on my brother's front door," said Adib, placing rocks to mark where the head and feet were buried. "When my brother Khaled tried to open the door, he was killed and two of his children were wounded."
