Dozens of civilians killed fleeing Islamic State in Mosul

Remains of men, women and children seen in street close to front line with Iraqi forces

Civilians flee  as Iraqi soldiers evacuate  wounded people  after  a mortar believed to have been  fired by Islamic State fighters struck  the al-Oraibi district of western Mosul, Iraq,  June 3rd, 2017. Photograph: Ahmed Jalil/EPA
Civilians flee as Iraqi soldiers evacuate wounded people after a mortar believed to have been fired by Islamic State fighters struck the al-Oraibi district of western Mosul, Iraq, June 3rd, 2017. Photograph: Ahmed Jalil/EPA

Dozens of dead bodies of civilians killed while fleeing an Islamic State-held neighbourhood in Mosul were lying on Saturday in a street close to the front line with Iraqi armed forces, a Reuters TV crew has reported.

The bodies were of men, women and children. Bags in which they carried their belongings were strewn around the street leading out of the Zanjili districts, one of three still in the hands of Islamic State in Mosul.

Hundreds others managed to reach the government lines, some wounded and some carrying apparently dead bodies in blankets.

Reuters