Human Rights Watch says mass execution site found in Mosul as Iraqi government admits ‘individual acts’ of abuse

‘An execution site with 17 apparent victims of extrajudicial killings was found near the Old City of West Mosul, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. The find is among a flood of evidence of atrocities being committed by Iraqi troops, the rights group pointed out.
The site was studied by “international observers, whose evidence has proven reliable in the past,” HRW said in its latest report. It was located in a Mosul neighborhood west of the Old City retaken from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) back in April.
An unnamed shopkeeper reportedly led observers into an empty building in the area and showed them “a row of 17 male corpses, barefoot but in civilian dress, surrounded by pools of blood.”
Many of the corpses were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind the back. The shopkeeper told the observers Monday that the Iraqi Security Forces’ 16th Division – recognizable by their badges and vehicles – has been in the area four nights before, and that he heard multiple gunshots from the area around the empty building. The bodies that he saw next morning were lying in positions suggesting they were shot dead there.’
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