ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi force has been put on duty to provide security at Mosul University after the institution was looted.
“A few days ago we were commanded by the ‘We are Coming Nineveh’ command to come and protect the Mosul University from looting,” Captain Abdulkarim Hadidi, commander of the Hashd al-Shaabi’s 15th Force, told Rudaw.
Hadidi added that since they began patrolling on the university’s campus “fifteen people have been arrested who had come onto the university’s campus for looting its equipment.”
“Many things have been stolen including electricity cables, fans, air conditioners, some laboratory equipment, electricity devices, and other things,” he detailed.
Hadidi’s forces “have been able to put an end to this dangerous phenomenon,” he said, but called for reinforcements from the Hashd al-Shaabi to further stabilize security on the campus.
The Shiite force has also discovered many bombs still inside the university, Hadidi said, and they have requested engineering teams to clear the campus.
Mosul University, one of the largest education compounds in Iraq, is situated in the eastern part of Mosul city and was liberated along with the entire left side of the city by Iraqi armed forces in mid-January.
ISIS used the university’s facilities to manufacture weapons and drones. The campus was also one of the group’s main command and control centres in eastern Mosul. In early 2016, coalition warplanes bombed the university, targeting ISIS’ headquarters there.
“A few days ago we were commanded by the ‘We are Coming Nineveh’ command to come and protect the Mosul University from looting,” Captain Abdulkarim Hadidi, commander of the Hashd al-Shaabi’s 15th Force, told Rudaw.
Hadidi added that since they began patrolling on the university’s campus “fifteen people have been arrested who had come onto the university’s campus for looting its equipment.”
“Many things have been stolen including electricity cables, fans, air conditioners, some laboratory equipment, electricity devices, and other things,” he detailed.
Hadidi’s forces “have been able to put an end to this dangerous phenomenon,” he said, but called for reinforcements from the Hashd al-Shaabi to further stabilize security on the campus.
The Shiite force has also discovered many bombs still inside the university, Hadidi said, and they have requested engineering teams to clear the campus.
Mosul University, one of the largest education compounds in Iraq, is situated in the eastern part of Mosul city and was liberated along with the entire left side of the city by Iraqi armed forces in mid-January.
ISIS used the university’s facilities to manufacture weapons and drones. The campus was also one of the group’s main command and control centres in eastern Mosul. In early 2016, coalition warplanes bombed the university, targeting ISIS’ headquarters there.
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