More than 1,000 IS militants kneel down and surrender

More than 1,000 Islamic State (IS) militants surrendered last week after being driven out of their stronghold of Hawija by Iraqi forces, the New York Times reported.

IS militants are detained after surrendering. Photo: NYTimes

Iraqi military forces on October 5 won a "lightning and decisive victory" to drive IS out of its stronghold of Hawijah.New York TimesCiting a statement from the US Central Command, it said: "This battle was extremely fierce, the campaign to liberate the city of Hawijah took only 14 days, many sources confirmed that more than 1,000 rebels surrendered."

Kurdish forces believe that hundreds more IS fighters will surrender.

This is not the first time IS militants have surrendered, but the event is notable for the large number of surrenders.

IS militants surrender to Iraqi army forces. Photo: Reuters

Kurdish intelligence sources said that the battle in Hawijah actually lasted only 3 days. The IS forces here were almost unable to resist, they and their families had to flee this battlefield, many of them surrendered.

Many of the fighters who surrendered claimed to be cooks or administrative staff working for the IS apparatus. Some said they decided to leave because they were asked to surrender, while others said they were not paid or living the life they were promised when they joined IS.

Hawija is the last IS stronghold in northern Iraq. IS has held the area since 2014.

The base in Hawija is considered the IS's central command center in northern Iraq, from where IS leaders observe and direct their attacks east and west of the Tigris River.

According to Dan Tri