A U.S.-trained Iraqi army division allegedly executed several dozen men in the final throes of the battle against Daesh militants in Mosul's Old City, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
The watchdog urged the U.S. government to suspend all support for the 16th Division of the Iraqi army pending an investigation into what it called war crimes, evidence of which was seen by two international observers.
Reuters could not independently verify the claims because Iraqi authorities have restricted media access to the Old City since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over Daesh on July 10. Spokesmen for the Iraqi government and military could not be reached for comment.
Daesh made its last stand in the Old City after nine months of urban warfare with Iraqi forces who are backed by a U.S.-led coalition. Fighting continued there for several days after victory was declared in mid-July and videos emerged of Iraqi forces beating unarmed men and pushing one off a precipice to his death.
"Given the widespread abuses by Iraqi forces and the government's abysmal record on accountability, the U.S. should take a hard look at its involvement with Iraqi forces," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
Iraq has promised to investigate previous accusations of abuses and hold perpetrators to account. The observers cited by HRW said they had seen a group of Iraqi soldiers who identified themselves as members of the 16th Division lead four naked men down an alleyway, after which they heard multiple gunshots. They were told by other soldiers that the four men were Islamic State fighters.
As they were leaving the area, one of the observers saw the bodies of a number of naked men lying in a doorway, one of whom appeared to have been handcuffed and had a rope tied around his legs.
"The U.S. military should find out why a force that it trained and supported is committing ghastly war crimes," Whitson said. "U.S. taxpayer dollars should be helping to curtail abuses, not enable them."
Backed by the U.S.-led international coalition, Iraq last October launched a wide-scale military offensive to recapture Mosul and the surrounding areas, with various Iraqi military, police and paramilitary forces taking part in the operation. The city's eastern half was declared liberated in January, and the push for the city's western section, separated from the east by the Tigris River, began the following month.
During the battle to retake Mosul began nine months ago, an estimated 862,000 people have been displaced from the city, although 195,000 have since returned, mainly to the liberated east of the city.
Nearly a third of the Old City — more than 5,000 buildings — was damaged or destroyed in the final three weeks of bombardment up to July 8, according to a survey by U.N. Habitat using satellite imagery. Across the city, 10,000 buildings were damaged over the course of the war, the large majority in western Mosul, the scene of the most intense artillery, airstrikes and fighting during the past five months.