Iraqi officials are investigating reports of prisoner abuse in Mosul. Video footage of soldiers torturing ISIL militants was originally dismissed as fake. Authorities have now said circumstantial evidence has given them new cause for concern.

CGTN’s Tony Cheng reports.

Several videos have emerged on social media, allegedly showing war crimes against captive ISIL suspects.

CGTN showed this footage to the man in charge of all military operations in Mosul, Maj. General Najim Abdullah al-Jubouri. He’s the commander of the Nineveh Operations Command, and acknowledged that some abuses have happened in the light of the brutality his own troops have suffered. However, he has insisted the security services hold themselves to a higher standard.

“Maybe someone here, someone there, did very badly. They’re not angels…it happens not just here but everywhere. But trust me, the commander in chief will not let them, if they are soldiers, do it without punishment,” al-Jubouri said.

In recent days, several hundred suspected ISIL fighters have surrendered. They are now at the mercy of Iraq’s security forces.

Up to this point, the few fighters captured alive have been processed through the judicial system and are entitled to a basic trial. Those found guilty, however, face a death sentence.

Just 20 kilometers outside Mosul is a camp for those displaced by the fighting. Some of the people there are part of the families of ISIL fighters. They are mostly women and children, and very few men. Camp authorities say all are entitled to basic rights.

One of the camps in Mosul bringing in families with affiliation to ISIL members will soon be shut down. There are buses present at the site, as intelligence sources believe several suicide bombers are there. They don’t know exactly where, but all residents will be searched and moved out.