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ByVladimirIsachenkov The Associated Press MOSCOW The Russian military said Friday its of- ficers have found evidence of chemical weapons use by Syrian militants in the northern area of Aleppo where government forces are trying to regain control of areas they recently lost to insurgents. Russian Defense Minis- try spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that ministry experts have found unexploded ordnance and fragments of munitions containing chlorine and white phosphorus on Alep- po's southwestern outskirts. Konashenkov said the dis- covery proves the militants have used chemical weap- ons against civilians and Syrian army soldiers. Russia is asking the Or- ganization for the Prohi- bition of Chemical Weap- ons to send its experts to the site, Konashenkov said, adding that munitions frag- ments and ground samples collected at the site will be handed over to the inter- national chemical weapons watchdog. One of the main Syrian opposition groups, the Syr- ian National Coalition, de- nied that rebels used chem- ical weapons in Aleppo say- ing that the shells that were fired are similar to those used by government forces and militias fighting with them. The SNC called on U.N. organizations to open an investigation into the case. The announcement comes as the Syrian govern- ment and Russia appear to be preparing for an all-out offensive on the besieged eastern parts of Aleppo that are held by opposition fight- ers. Pro-Syrian media out- lets in Lebanon have been reporting that heavy rein- forcements have been arriv- ing in Aleppo over the past weeks in preparation for the attack. The Interfax news agency reported Friday that jets from the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov have been flying over Syria over the past few days to survey the area in prepara- tion for future combat mis- sions. It said that prepara- tions are underway for the carrier and escorting ships to launch strikes against militants. The carrier group's mis- sion near Syria's shores marks the largest Russian naval deployment since the Soviet collapse. The Admiral Kuznetsov carries about 20 fighter jets, adding to some 30 war- planes Russia has at the He- meimeem air base in Syr- ia's coastal province of Lat- takia. The U.S. and its allies have pushed for sanc- tions on the Syrian gov- ernment for using chem- ical weapons. Russia has questioned international investigators' conclusions linking chemical weapons use to the Syrian govern- ment and pointed at evi- dence of their use by the militants. MI DDL E EA ST Russia says Syrian militants used chemical weapons in Aleppo area By Adam Schreck and Brian Rohan The Associated Press BASHIQA, IRAQ New re- ports emerged Friday of public killings and other atrocities committed against Mosul residents by Islamic State militants, in- cluding dozens of civilians whose bullet-riddled bod- ies were hung from tele- phone polls after they were accused of using cellphones to leak information to Iraqi security forces. The United Nations hu- man rights office said IS fighters killed some 70 ci- vilians in Mosul this week, part of a litany of abuses to come to light in recent days, including torture, sex- ual exploitation of women and girls, and use of child soldiers who were filmed ex- ecuting civilians. Therevelationsarethelat- est reports of IS brutality as thegroupretreatsintodense urbanquarters ofIraqi'ssec- ond-largest city, forcing the population to go with them as human shields. In its report, the U.N. human rights office in Ge- neva said IS shot and killed 40 people on Tuesday after accusing them of "treason and collaboration," saying they communicated with Iraqi security forces by cell- phone. The bodies, dressed in orange jumpsuits, were hung from electrical poles in Mosul. A day later, the extrem- ists reportedly shot to death 20 civilians at a military base. Their bodies were hung at traffic intersections in Mosul, with signs saying they "used cellphones to leak information." A Mosul resident, reached by telephone, said crowds have been watching the killings in horror. One victim was a former police colonel, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety. The violence is part of a disturbing pattern. As the army advances, IS mili- tants have been rounding up thousands of people and killing those with suspected links to the security forces. Soldiers last week discov- ered a mass grave in the town of Hamam al-Alil, 12 miles south of Mosul, con- taining some 100 bodies. At the same time, the militants have gone door to door in villages south of Mosul, ordering hundreds to march at gunpoint into the city. Combat in Mosul's dense urban areas is ex- pected to be heavy, and the presence of civilians will slow the army's advance as it seeks to avoid casualties. IS militants have boasted of the atrocities in grisly on- line photos and video. The United Nations has urged authorities to collect evi- dence of IS abuses of civil- ians to use in eventually prosecuting the militants in tribunals. Iraqi troops are advanc- ing from four fronts on Mo- sul, the last major IS hold- out in Iraq. As Iraqi spe- cial forces battle in eastern neighborhoods of the city, Kurdish peshmerga forces are holding a line north of the city, while Iraqi army and militarized police units approach from the south. Government-sanctioned Shiite militias are guard- ing western approaches. In the formerly IS-held town of Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul, Kurdish com- mander Gen. Hamid Effendi said his forces were working to secure the area but faced booby traps that were hold- ing up the advance. More than a thousand unexploded bombs are be- lieved buried in Bashiqa, Ef- fendi said. Over 100 IS fight- ers have been killed in com- bat, he added, but wounded fighters likely remain in de- fensive tunnels built by the militants. On Friday, teams went building by building into the night detonating explo- sives left behind in Bashiqa, which was deserted except for a few residents trickling in to check on their homes and businesses. Among them was 60-year-old Khan Amir Mo- hammed, who discovered that his home had been turned into a mortar post by the militants, who dug seven tunnels on his fam- ily's 3 -acre property be- fore retreating. Ammunition tubes and English-language instruc- tion pamphlets for launch- ing mortars littered the floor in one room. Another had been turned into a makeshift mosque, with lines taped to the floor for worshippers to line up to pray. IRAQ Troops inch ahead on Mosul, UN recounts IS atrocities MARKODROBNJAKOVIC—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A man helps Iraqi Federal Police officers break through a wall as they inspect a former prison used by Islamic State militants in Hamam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq, on Friday. InPrintEveryTuesday-Thursday-Saturday Online:Publishes24/7 www.redbluffdailynews.com Threeadditionalonline locations at no extra cost! 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