While it’s hard to know what’s true and what isn’t with so many conflicting stories coming out of Mosul lately, reports suggest that ISIS is trying to emphasize their presence to the locals amid fear of an imminent invasion by the Iraqi military.
That’s including a lot more patrols by the morality police in the city, who go around checking things like beard lengths and clothes, and enforcing ISIS’ strict ban on smoking. They’re also making a much bigger show of their execution of suspected spies and infiltrators.
Locals say at least 20 executed bodies have been put on display around the city, including five at a single road junction who were all crucified by ISIS on suspicion of being spies for the Iraqi military. Elsewhere, bodies were hung from utility poles and traffic signals.
ISIS has long made a point of making their executions very public, an attempt to maintain control over their cities despite relatively small numbers of security forces. The eagerness to keep the locals in line in Mosul is likely to drive them toward even more dramatic action against perceived dissent.