UN Cites Reports of up to 3,000 Iraqis Captured by ISIS

The U.N. refugee agency says it has received reports that the Islamic State group may have captured up to 3,000 Iraqis who were fleeing violence and that 12 of them may have been killed.

Iraqi pro-government forces gather in al-Shahabi village, east of the city of Fallujah, on May 24, 2016, as part of a major assault to retake the city from Islamic State. Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

BERLIN—The U.N. refugee agency says it has received reports that the Islamic State (ISIS) may have captured up to 3,000 Iraqis who were fleeing violence and that 12 of them may have been killed.

In a report published Thursday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the internally displaced people from villages in the Hawiga district had been trying to flee to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk when they were captured by ISIS.

UNHCR officials in Geneva and Baghdad said Friday they were still trying to verify the information and wouldn’t comment on the source of the reports.