ICC Note: As the operation to liberate mosul is in its second week, ground forces are seeing the terrorizing battle tactics of the militants. The UN is reporting that ISIS is using thousands of civilians as human shields in the approaching battle. The extremists have executed well over 200 people in the last few days including those refusing to join their ranks as well as former security forces. The operation includes Iraqi security forces, Kurdish fighters and a coalition of foreign support.

10/29/2016 Iraq (FOX): The Islamic State group is using tens of thousands of people as “human shields” in and around Mosul while the Iraqi forces are waging a large-scale offensive aimed at retaking the country’s second-largest city, the U.N. human rights office said Friday.

Here is a look at the main developments on the 12th day of the Mosul offensive.

NEW MOSUL HORRORS

The extremist group has massacred perceived opponents on several occasions, and is widely believed to be rooting out anyone who could potentially rise up against it, focusing on Iraqis with military training or past links to security forces.

The U.N. office said civilians from across the region south of Mosul were being herded into Hamam al-Alil, a militant-held town where the population has more than doubled to 60,000 since the forced displacement began.

There, the militants separated former members of the security forces from women and children, and took both groups onward to Mosul. They killed 190 former security forces in a military base on the southern edge of the city and killed 42 civilians at another base for refusing to join the extremists. Another 24 people were reportedly shot dead on Tuesday.

US STEPS IN

The U.S. military, which is providing airstrikes and ground support for the operation, said it tried to disrupt the forced displacement of civilians south of Mosul earlier this week by striking militant vehicles being used in the forced push.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Isler said the U.S.-led coalition conducted “precision strikes” on vehicles that were unoccupied and far enough away from civilians to avoid harming them.

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