AL-ALAM, Iraq — With the operation to liberate Mosul ongoing, dozens of families are fleeing the battlefield and are being killed simply because they are caught in the crossfire. Civilians fleeing Islamic State-held Hawija, 120 kilometers (74 miles) south of Mosul, toward al-Alam area were killed Nov. 5, and this has now become a daily tragedy.
Al-Alam is a Sunni town with strong tribal ties that has long collaborated with the predominantly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in the fight against IS. It is a predominantly agricultural town with an estimated 60,000 inhabitants, according to a local police officer, and is located just over 10 kilometers (6 miles) across the Tigris River from former President Saddam Hussein’s native city of Tikrit.
