ERBIL, Kurdistan Region —Iraq’s defense ministry reported on Sunday that its troops have arrested more than 450 militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) trying to flee Fallujah as the army advances towards the city from different fronts. “The Iraqi security forces have the names and numbers of ISIS militants and they managed to arrest those who have tried to escape Fallujah with the refugees,” said Nassir Noori, a spokesperson for the ministry of defense. Noori said government troops expected to catch more militants in the coming days thanks to good intelligence and strict control around the city. “The Anbar provincial police question the detainees who will later be transferred to a special court,” he added. The announcement from the defense ministry raises doubts about the true identity of the detainees, especially a day after Anbar governor Suhaib al-Rawi accused members of the Shiite militia of arresting and imprisoning hundreds of Fallujah civilians upon their escape. “We don’t still know the fate of many people,” al-Rawi told Rudaw. The governor condemned the acts of the Shiite militia, saying their torture and abuse of civilians were unjustified, adding that in one massacre alone 17 people were killed by militiamen who are backing Iraqi troops in the fight. “Civilians have nothing to do with ISIS and in fact they are waiting to be rid of these criminal gangsters,” he said. Member of the Anbar provincial council Rajih Barakat told Rudaw last week that in one campaign more than 600 families were temporarily detained by the militias before handing them over to the Anbar council, said council.
