On Feb. 14, 2019, Colonel Ghaleb, head of explosives, was killed in his truck in an explosion in the mountains near Al Zawea. This is the same location where three Sunni Arab brothers were kidnapped last week and their bodies dropped on the highway between Mosul and Baghdad. This is also near the location where a mother and her two small children were killed in a truck explosion two weeks ago. Colonel Ghaleb was from Baiji.
Last week, three brothers were kidnapped in the mountain of Al Zawea, which is about 15 kilometers from Hawija. They were Saad, Omer, and Mohammed Jassim from Almashq. The kidnappers called the family of the brothers and told them where they could come to get them on the road between Baghdad and Mosul. The entire town of Al Zawea went to get the brothers. They found their dead bodies on February 8, 2019.
Residents of Al Zawea (or al Zawiah or alzwea) accuse ISIS based in Hawija of the murders. Residents in the center of Hawija say ISIS members are living in the rugged mountain areas of Hamrin which is outside of Hawija.
Two weeks ago, an IED exploded on the car of a family from Al Zawea in the same area in the mountain around Al Zawea. The mother and her two small children died. The driver survived. The driver's mother was seriously injured, yesterday she had both legs amputated in a Baghdad hospital.
A month ago, a different IED killed two men driving in their car in Al Zawea.
Al Zawea is a beautiful part of Iraq with mountains, a river and greenery. ISIS planted bombs throughout this area. It is not safe. The people of Al Zawea who returned to their homes continue to call for help.
In July 2014, ISIS attacked Al Zawea after they refused to join ISIS. They are mostly university-educated Sunni Arabs who opposed ISIS ideology. Many of them worked as interpreters and translators for the US military between 2003-2011. 200 innocent civilians were killed in the attack in July 2014.
The two children, from Al Zawea, in this photo died with their mother in the car explosion in the Al Zawea mountain area.
