ISIL Chops Three Women's Hands Off, Whips Five Men for Using Cellphones

A Mosul resident said that Islamic State jihadists had cut off the hands of three women for unknown reasons and whipped five men for using cellphones to call their relatives.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Jihadists from the violent Islamic State (IS) group have cut off the hands of three women for unknown reasons and whipped five men for using cellphones to call their relatives in the Islamic State-controlled Iraqi city of Mosul, a local resident said.

The resident told Iraqi News agency on conditions of anonymity that the Islamic State threatened people in Mosul, which is the largest Iraqi city to be held by Islamists, that they would give 30 lashes to anyone caught using phones in the city.

An earlier report said the militants had shut down all phone lines in the city for fear that residents might tip off US-led allies about IS positions. A coalition of some 60 countries has been launching air strikes against Islamic State targets since last August, with more than 20 air raids on Mosul alone.

In July, Iraqi News also cited a source as saying that the Islamic State forced the local population to wear uniforms and pulled all clothes from stores.

The militant group made swift advances in northern Iraq in June, turning Mosul into their main stronghold and prompting the coalition to carry out air attacks on Islamic State positions in an attempt to roll back the insurgency.