Heartbreaking! Little girl murdered by ISIS and buried with others in a mass grave reduces battle-hardened soldier to tears

A battle hardened soldier used to seeing dead people could not contain his emotions after he uncovered the remains of a little girl murdered by ISIS in Mosul, Iraq.

The Iraqi soldier found the body of the girl in a mass grave of about 24 victims, most of who were children, after a part of the besieged city was taken back from the terror group.

 

The image of the girl, wrapped in a blanket highlights the horrific reality of the crimes ISIS carries out against civilians in the area. The terror group carry out mass executions from time to time even for 'crimes' as minor as trying to flee the troubled city to a safer place. Iraqi fighters discovered the mass grave in which was buried adults and children covered with blankets as they made further inroads in their battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS. The progress of the soldiers was slowed by car bombs and booby-traps in houses and alleyways but they had made significant gains in recent days.

"We have a plan to surround the Old City. Today we have advanced from the right and left sides and the only part left is right in the middle. God willing we will continue this plan today," Federal Police Major General Haidar Dhirgham said.

They are, however, careful in attacking the terror group and cannot simply pulverise them due to civilians who are in their midst. There is a need to ensure the safety of civilians, many of them hungry from a lack of provisions and traumatised by living under Islamic State's harsh rule.

"We will liberate civilians before liberating the land," Dhirgham said. "We will take them out of the neighbourhoods, if we have their consent. If they would like to flee to an area in the back flanks or if we could secure them within their neighbourhoods, we will secure them in their homes.''