The "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) has killed several residents attempting to flee al-Hawijah, officers and local officials said Friday (August 5th), as Iraqi forces prepared for an operation to free the area, AFP reported.

Over the past few days, hundreds of civilians have managed to flee the area, which lies west of Kirkuk and is one of the last major areas east of the Tigris River still controlled by ISIL.

"Our forces received 600 people yesterday and offered them assistance," a senior officer of the Peshmerga forces told AFP.

"We heard from them that ISIL is holding hundreds of families hostage and has executed young men for escaping" from territories under its control, he said.

A senior police officer also reported that several people recently had been shot dead by ISIL fighters as they attempted to flee the area.

A local tribal leader urged Iraqi forces to step up operations aimed at retaking al-Hawijah and rescue trapped civilians.

"We are facing the risk of a massacre and the government has to move quickly," Sheikh Anwar al-Assi told AFP, estimating that around 100,000 people still live under ISIL rule in al-Hawijah.