Iraq halts shelling of civilian areas

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister said Saturday he has ordered the army to stop shelling populated areas held by militants in order to spare the lives of “innocent victims” as the armed forces struggle to retake cities and towns seized by the Islamic State extremist group this summer.

“I issued this order two days ago because we do not want to see more innocent victims falling in the places and provinces controlled by Daesh,” Haider al-Abadi told a news conference in Baghdad, referring to the Islamic State group by its Arabic acronym.   

He accused the militants of using civilians as a human shield to stop the advance of Iraqi security forces. But he vowed to continue military operations against the al-Qaida breakaway group, which seized large territories in the north and west in an unprecedented June offensive.