An Iraqi refugee who fled Mosul stands between tents at the UN-run Al-Hol refugee camp in Syria’s Hasakeh province. Pic/AFP

Iraq: Iraqi special forces have moved over 1,000 people from villages near the front lines of the battle to retake the Islamic State-held city of Mosul and surrounding areas, where the UN says militants have committed a number of atrocities in recent days, officials said yesterday.