Save The Children humanitarian organization confirmed that dozens of children were killed while trying to escape from the area of Hawija in northern Iraq under the control of the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) terrorist group.

“In recent days, a large number of children were found without water, and died in difficult terrain (due to thirst) or killed in bomb blasts,” the UK-based organization, said in a statement Thursday.

The group said the family of five had lost two children because of the explosives, and it was not able to move their bodies for fear of the presence of other mines in the area where the two had died.

Iraqi forces are expected to begin a massive offensive to regain Mosul from ISIL, the largest city in Iraq.

Earlier, the city of Hawija in Kirkuk province (southeast of Nineveh) has been liberated in conjunction with the Battle of Mosul.

Source: Al-Manar Website