Iraqi forces free 1,500 prisoners from underground Islamic State jail

Middle East Eye ^ | April 3, 2016 | N/A

[huldah1776]

Iraqi forces took parts of Heet, one of largest population centres in Anbar province still held by IS, but other areas remain under group's control

Iraqi forces freed about 1,500 prisoners from an underground Islamic State group jail during a battle to retake a western town, officials said on Saturday.

Security forces recaptured parts of Heet, which was one of the largest population centres in Anbar province still held by IS, but other areas remain under the group’s control.

"During their advance to liberate and clear the town of Heet from the [IS] organisation, security forces discovered a large prison," police Colonel Fadhel al-Nimrawi said. "The prison was underground" and held 1,500 people, who were freed, he said.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but security forces have since regained significant ground. After the recapture of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi, Heet and Fallujah were two of the largest population centres still held by IS in Anbar.

Retaking Heet - strategically located on the Euphrates River near the Ain al-Asad air base, where several hundred US forces are training Iraqi troops - would push IS farther west towards the Syrian border, cutting a connection to the northern town of Samarra while leaving Fallujah as the group's only stronghold near the capital, Baghdad, Al Jazeera said.

[huldah1776]

At least they were cool.

In Aug 2014 IS killed 1,500 Iraqi POWS

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3195734/posts

[driftdiver]

I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t ever surrender to those animals.

[fella]

Some times you can’t help being captured. Wounded or unconscious. But captured doesn’t have to mean surrender, read some of the stories of our POWs (Excluding John McClain).

[driftdiver]

Yes there are those possibilities. Or having 3 agents try to pull you out the back of a coffee shop. Not that I would know anything about that.

[fella]

My oldest brother told a story about his Korean war days. When they were sent out on a capture patrol they would fill the toe of a sock with lead shot and use it as a sap to knock their victim out. While dragging their limp bodies back you could tell when they were starting to wake up cause they would start to tense up so you’d hit them again.