By Mohammed Walid and Serhad Shaker 

NINEVEH, Iraq

Daesh militants have executed 13 Iraqi civilians for trying to flee the northern city of Mosul, a local police officer said Wednesday. 

The victims were shot dead at the Sargakhana crossing in central Mosul, federal police intelligence officer Ahmed Jihad told Anadolu Agency.

"Their bodies were dumped in the streets," he said.

He said most of the executed civilians were from densely-populated areas in Mosul's Old City.

In February, Iraqi forces, with air cover provided by a U.S.-led coalition, began fresh operations aimed at purging Daesh from western Mosul, the terrorist group’s last stronghold in the region.

The offensive came as part of a wider campaign launched last October to retake the entire city, which Daesh overran -- along with other parts of the country -- in mid-2014.