ISIS terrorists on Thursday executed at least 32 civilians, mostly young men, in the city of Mosul, after accusing them of spying for the Iraqi forces.

This comes amid intensifying military operations by the Iraqi forces against ISIS main Iraqi bastion of Mosul, where the group has lost key areas in the past three weeks.

Local sources told ARA News that the ISIS-led Islamic Police, also known as Diwan al-Hisba, arrested more than 40 people earlier on Wednesday.

“At least 32 arrestees were executed on Thursday by fighting squad after ISIS accused them of leaking information about the group’s deployments in Mosul city,” head of Nineveh Media Centre Raafat al-Zarari told ARA News.

The pro-ISIS Sharia Court of Mosul said in a statement that the suspects had communicated with ‘enemy forces’. The court determined that those communications represented the men’s conscious abandonment of Islam.

“The arrested men were charged with treason,” local media activist Abdullah al-Malla told ARA News. “They were publicly executed in central Mosul on Thursday.”

Muhammad Abd-Rabouh, a member of the Iraqi Parliament, said that the recent executions indicate a state of panic among ISIS ranks.

“As the Iraqi forces continue their progress towards the heart of Mosul city, ISIS tries to show the people that it’s still in control,” the Iraqi MP said. “Publicly executing innocent civilians in such a brutal way on charges of spying and treason is a clear indication to the group’s collapse inside Mosul.”

“Soon Mosul will be liberated, and the world won’t see such barbaric acts in this city anymore,” he said.

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