'For generations, life was normal there' - ISIS doubles executions in Mosul

'The Iraqi authorities must immediately investigate these alarming reports of extrajudicial executions and torture.'

In the city of Mosul, ISIS has been struggling to maintain its hold.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Iraqi forces have been clearing bombs and other traps as they make their way through Mosul and its surrounding cities.

Terrorists are getting antsy and desperate, leading them to a slew of even more violent acts.

Reuters reported at least twenty people have been executed within only 48 hours, each of whom was accused of sharing information to "the enemy."

They are leaning heavily on Sharia law and slaughtering all who show any hint of opposition.

Lynn Maalouf, the deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office told BBC: "When the  Mosul military operation began, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made clear that violations by Iraqi armed forces and its allies would not be tolerated.

"Now is the time for him to prove just that. The Iraqi authorities must immediately investigate these alarming reports of extrajudicial executions and torture."

Sabah Salim Dawoon, a 62-year-old Christian from Mosul, told the New York Times the people are ready of ISIS to be defeated.

He explained how different life was before the terrorists came, even for religious minorities. Everyone coexisted in an unspoken social pact where security was offered in exchange for tolerance.

"For generations, life was normal there," Dawoon shared. "In the factories, on the farms, in the offices, nobody asked, 'What are you?'

Christians are slaughtered, Yazidi are killed, children are brainwashed and women are raped.

No one is safe.

In an attempt to help the city rebuild, a 100,000-strong coalition including Iraqi troops, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite paramilitary groups are fighting it out against ISIS.

Residents living in and around Mosul have long feared venturing outside in search of food but as the Islamic State retreats, more are able to step into the light.

One Mosul resident told Reuters: "I went out in my car for the first time since the start of the clashes in the eastern districts. I saw some of the Hisbana elements of Daesh checking people's beards and clothes and looking for smokers."

Sunni jihads forbid smoking, enforce women to be fully covered with veils and gloves, and men are banned from wearing jeans or any Western-style clothing or logos.

"It looks like they want to prove their presence after they disappeared for the last 10 days, especially on the eastern bank," the resident explained.

Many recall life before the Islamic State entered their territory, with many explaining old friends and neighbors have enlisted, turning their backs on the innocent.

"The Islamic State destroyed my childhood and my memories," 26-year-old Muhammad Sayed stated. "They turned some of my friends into murdering terrorists, some of the friends that I studied with in primary school and high school, and I have the most beautiful memories with them.

"But they have joined the terrorists, and for them, I have become an infidel."

Citizens are ready to return to Mosul once it is cleared but many remain in fear. They know the Mosul they return to will never be the same Mosul they knew and loved.

Falah Mustafa, the Kurdish region's foreign minister, spoke at a panel discussion in Erbil to say: "The major problem in Iraq is dealing with fear. It's immensely painful to be betrayed by your neighbor."

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