Sarhad Qadir, director of police in Kirkuk province, told Rudaw on Saturday that “a dozen families from Hawija and nearby areas escaped Daesh gunmen through Hamrin Mountains and arrived at Peshmerga bases on the Dubez fronts.”
But at least 50 families from Hawija and ISIS-controlled villages had reportedly failed to reach the safe zone of Kurdish military bases on Friday.
“They might be captured by Daesh gunmen while trying to escape the area,” Qadir said, using the derogatory Arabic name for ISIS.
Residents escaping ISIS-controlled areas have been warned by the group not to leave. Violators have been killed.
Despite the harsh punishment, people have been trying to escape from Hawija to Kirkuk since last year.
Hawija is 55 kilometers southwest of Kirkuk and considered an ISIS stronghold, second only to Mosul, which is also controlled by ISIS.
