Thousands of refugees flee Mosul as ISIS murders 250 civilians who refused to become human shields

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Thousands of civilians fled towns surrounding the ISIS stronghold of Mosul where the terror group have been murdering people who refuse to act as human shields. 

Men, women and children traipsed across the desert and through the front lines as several new fronts opened in the operation to retake Mosul. 

More than 17,500 have left their homes in the past few days according to the United Nations with credible reports of ISIS executing more than 250 people who refused to act as human shields. 

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Thousands of Iraqi civilians have fled ISIS-held areas surrounding Mosul as the Hashed al-Shaabi militant group joined the fight against the terror organisation near Al Qayyarah, which is south of the besieged stronghold 

This man leads his family towards a refugee camp outside al Qayyarah, south of Mosul having escaped the city 

ISIS has been kidnapping civilians in the area around Mosul to force them to become human shields to prevent air strikes 

ISIS has tried to use civilians as human shields to prevent US-led aircraft from pounding their positions in support of the Iraqi forces. 

The two-week old offensive has seen villages liberated from around the strategic city. 

In the past 24 hours, Iraqi paramilitary forces have begun attacking Al Qayyarah, which is south of Mosul. The town is part of the vital supply route for ISIS between Iraq and Syria. 

Forces from the Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary umbrella organisation dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias, have largely been on the sidelines since the launch of the operation to retake Mosul.

But on Saturday they began a push on the town of Tal Afar on the western approach to the city, the only side where ground forces, which have advanced from the north, east and south, are not yet deployed.

The United Nations believe that more than 250 civilians have been murdered by ISIS since the Mosul offensive begun 

This family escaped on the road between Makhmour and al Qayyarah. Their vehicle was struck by a bullet in the windscreen

The United Nations claimed some 17,500 refugees have fled ISIS held areas in the past two weeks alone

Hashed al-Shaabi spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi said: 'The operation aims to cut supplies between Mosul and Raqa and tighten the siege of ISIS in Mosul and liberate Tal Afar. 

Assadi said the operation was launched from the Sin al-Dhaban area south of Mosul and aimed to retake the towns of Hatra and Tal Abta as well as Tal Afar.

The drive toward Tal Afar could bring the fighting perilously close to the ancient city of Hatra, a UNESCO world heritage site that has already been vandalised by ISIS.

Though it was not mentioned by name, the operation may also pass near the ruins of Nimrud, another archaeological site that has previously been attacked by ISIS.

The involvement of Shiite militias in the Mosul operation has been a source of contention, although some of the Hashed's top commanders insist they do not plan to enter the largely Sunni city.

Many have abandoned their homes with only the clothes on their back to escape from the impending assault 

The UN High Commission for Refugees described ISIS as 'cowardly' for using civilians as human shields in Mosul 

The Iraqi army has currently paused its operation in Mosul to regroup and re-equip its front line troops according to the US

Iraqi Kurds and Sunni Arab politicians have opposed their involvement, as has Turkey, which has a military presence east of Mosul despite repeated demands by Baghdad for the forces to be withdrawn.

Relations between the Hashed and the US-led coalition fighting ISIS are also tense, but the paramilitaries enjoy widespread support among members of Iraq's Shiite majority.

Tal Afar was a Shiite-majority town of mostly ethnic Turkmens before the Sunni extremists of ISIS overran it in 2014, and its recapture is a main goal of Shiite militia forces.

As the Hashed push on Tal Afar got under way, Iraq's federal police advanced into Al-Shura, an area south of Mosul with a long history as a militant bastion that has been the target of fighting for more than a week.

Federal Police commander Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat said: 'Federal police units raised the Iraqi flag. Police are now chasing terrorists fleeing towards the north.'

The offensive operations came despite an assertion from the US-led coalition on Friday that Iraqi forces were temporarily halting their advance on Mosul for a period expected to last 'a couple days'.

Colonel John Dorrian confirmed the Iraqi troops were regrouping for advancing further. 'They are pausing and repositioning, refitting and doing some back clearing.' 

Some of those who are trying to remain in their homes scavenge for wood and metal in the streets of al Qayyarah

Refugees are forced to queue up and carry water in saucepans in a UN camp just outside the town of al Qayyarah

The Iraqi Army has posted guards outside the refugee camp outside al Qayyarah to protect civilians from ISIS

An Iraqi military statement, apparently issued in response to Dorrian's remarks on the halt, said that 'military operations are continuing' and proceeding on schedule.

More than 17,500 people have fled their homes toward government-held areas since the Mosul operation began, the International Organisation for Migration said on Saturday.

Numbers are expected to soar as Iraqi forces close in.

Civilians are suffering even more in jihadist-held territory, with the United Nations saying that there are credible reports of ISIS carrying out mass executions and seizing tens of thousands of people for use as human shields.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said ISIS's 'depraved, cowardly strategy is to attempt to use the presence of civilians to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations'. 

The United Nations believe the number of refugees fleeing the ISIS-held territory around Mosul 

He said the jihadists are 'effectively using tens of thousands of women, men and children as human shields.'

The UN cited reports indicating ISIS has forcibly taken civilians into Mosul, killing those who resist or who were previously members of Iraqi security forces.

It said more than 250 people were executed in just two days earlier this week.

The jihadists have also launched a series of diversionary attacks since the operation began, including one in the city of Kirkuk that sparked multiple days of fighting and left dozens dead.

Officials said on Saturday that another such diversion, this time in the Ramadi area, west of Baghdad, had been foiled and 11 people arrested.