Story out of Mosul, Iraq:
ISIS appears to be using tens of thousands of people as human shields in and around Mosul, where Iraqi forces are waging a large-scale offensive aimed at retaking the country's second largest city, the UN human rights office said Friday.
It has received reports of more than 200 people being killed for refusing to comply with ISIS orders or previously belonging to Iraqi security forces. It said "credible reports" suggest the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been forcing tens of thousands from their homes in districts around Mosul.
The militant group's "depraved, cowardly strategy is to attempt to use the presence of civilian hostages to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations, effectively using tens of thousands of women, men and children as human shields," spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Isler said Iraqi troops on Friday were consolidating gains made east and south of the city earlier this week, but insisted "momentum" was still on their side.
Isler says the U.S.-led coalition has stepped up airstrikes against the militants, and is carrying out three times as many as it did during previous campaigns to drive ISIS from other Iraqi cities. Cont. (Video)
Story from - CBC News/AP
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