Dozen queuing fo aid killed in mortar attacks in Mosul

Four Iraqi aid workers and seven civilians were killed and 40 others wounded in two separate mortar attacks in eastern Mosul, a UN office here said Thursday.

A statement by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Iraq (OCHA) said the two mortar attacks occurred while civilians were queuing to receive emergency assistance from the aid workers in the battleground city.

The UN statement did not say whether the attacks were carried out by the Iraqi forces or the Islamic State (IS) militants, but the IS group has repeatedly shelled the recaptured districts and opened fire on residents fleeing to the opposite direction.

"This is completely unacceptable and we condemn these actions in the strongest terms," said Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.

"All parties to the conflict--all parties--have an obligation to uphold international humanitarian law and ensure that civilians survive and receive the assistance they need," she said.

The attacks came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Oct. 17 announced a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under the IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. 

source: Xinhua