Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Daesh terrorists have executed more than 300 former Iraqi policemen south of Mosul following heavy losses in the ongoing battle with Iraqi forces.

The executions were carried out near the recently-liberated Hammam al-Alil town three weeks ago and the victims were buried in a mass grave, the group said on Thursday.

The HRW cited a witness as saying that he saw the Takfiri terrorists driving four large trucks with 100 to 125 men on board on October 28 and that he recognized some of them as former policemen.

The terrorists then drove past an agricultural college close to the site of the mass grave where minutes later, he heard shots being fired from automatic rifles and cries of distress, the group said.

A similar scene was repeated the next night, with between 130 to 145 men being ferried, he told the group.

An unnamed Hammam al-Alil resident confirmed the news, saying he heard automatic gunfire shots in the area for three straight nights, each lasting nearly seven minutes.

“This is another piece of evidence of the horrific mass murder by Daesh of former law enforcement officers in and around Mosul,” Deputy Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch Joe Stork said.

The Iraqi army liberated Hammam al-Alil on November 7. A UN official said the next day that Daesh had abducted 295 former members of Iraqi security forces near Mosul.

Soldiers from the Iraqi Special Forces 2nd Division run for cover under fire from Daesh militants as they push into the Aden neighborhood of the northern city of Mosul on November 16, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi troops are in the midst of a massive operation to retake Mosul, the last stronghold of the Daesh terrorists in the country.

On Thursday, pro-government Hashd al-Sha'bi fighters handed over the control of 16 villages in in Tal Afar to the Iraqi army after recapturing them.

A member of Nineveh Provincial Council, Husamuddin al-Abbar, said the army will control the territories as volunteer fighters proceed to free more villages.

Additionally, Iraqi counter-terrorism forces established full control over Tammuz 30 neighborhood in eastern Mosul.

Security forces also launched an offensive in Mosul’s eastern district of al-Moharebin and were reported to be capturing it within few hours.

Elsewhere in the western city of Kabisa, officials said an Iraqi army unit repelled a Daesh militant assault, killing scores of the terrorists in the process.