The hundreds of escapees, including women and children, were sheltered by Kurdish forces in the town of Wanke, 35 km northwest of Mosul on the Tigris River, according to Saeed Mamozini, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party branch 14 in Mosul.
“Mosul civilians are escaping from ISIS whenever they find an opportunity,” Mamozini told Rudaw, adding residents are sometimes captured by ISIS fighters before reaching the safe zones.
“Peshmerga forces have sheltered hundreds of Kurdish people, including women and children who fled Mosul last night, providing them the basic necessities,” Mamozini said.
Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city some 400 km north of Baghdad, fell to ISIS on June 10 when an estimated 1,300 militants occupied government offices, army facilities and the airport, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
The Iraqi Army, backed by air support from the US-led coalition and ground support from Peshmerga, has announced plans to re-take Mosul in 2015.
