QAYARA, Iraq (AP) – At a checkpoint south of Mosul, men who once suffered under the harsh rule of the Islamic State group are now screening displaced civilians to identify any fleeing fighters, and some are dispensing what they call justice.
Dhia Amir said he has arrested more than 100 people – some as young as 13 – and handed them over to local police.
“Except for the men who I saw kill with my own eyes,” Amir said earlier this week. “Those, I don’t hand them over to the state. I deal with them myself.”
Then he pointed to a sand berm on the side of the road where he said he shot two men. “I killed them right over there,” Amir said.
Since the offensive to retake Iraq’s second-largest city began Oct. 17, the Shiite-led government has tried to prevent revenge attacks against the mainly Sunni residents of Mosul and surrounding areas. State-sanctioned Shiite militias and Kurdish forces say they won’t enter the city, and the government has vowed to investigate any human rights violations and hold people accountable.