Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) discovered an underground prison containing 961 starved and tortured prisoners in the Shura sub-district of Mosul, Iraq on Nov. 7.
Most of the prisoners were Sunni Muslims and former members of the ISF and the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni party in Iraq. They were stuffed into cages measuring approximately 3 feet long by 1.5 feet wide, according to a United Nations report.
The report lists several abuses by ISIS fighters currently trapped in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the so-called caliphate’s capital in Iraq. ISF reportedly discovered the bodies of several executed civilians hanging from poles in Mosul earlier in November. Coalition forces discovered a mass grave containing at least 100 bodies Monday in the town of Hamam al-Alil.
The imprisonment of so many Sunnis is slightly unusual, given that ISIS itself claims to follow the Sunni tradition. That said, the group is well-known for ruthlessly executing anyone they consider an enemy or apostate, regardless of religion. Members of the Iraqi political system and ISF are particularly despised by the terrorist group.
The assault on Mosul began four weeks ago and saw rapid initial success. Coalition forces slowed their advance earlier this week, but resumed the assault Friday morning. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began a siege on the ISIS capital of Raqqa in Syria Sunday, announcing Thursday that they are on the verge of surrounding the northern portion of the city. Coalition forces will likely continue to discover ISIS atrocities as they continue to retake the terrorist group’s two major population centers.
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