DHAKA: So-called Islamic State (IS) shot dead 40 civilians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after accusing them of treason, the United Nations says.

Their bodies were then hung from electricity poles in several districts, the office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner said, citing sources.

A man was also reportedly shot dead in public in central Mosul for ignoring an IS ban on using mobile phones, reports the BBC.

Iraqi security forces are continuing their push to take Mosul back from IS.

The killings of the civilians on Tuesday appeared to have been carried out on the orders of self-appointed “courts”, according to the UN report.

The 40 civilians were accused of “treason and collaboration” and dressed in orange clothes marked in red with the words “traitors and agents of the ISF” (Iraqi Security Forces).

BDST: 1840 HRS, NOV 11, 2016
AP/BD