AKIPRESS.COM - An estimated 3,500 people, mainly women and children, are being held as slaves in Iraq by Islamic State militants, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The Islamist group, which also controls large parts of Syria, is responsible for acts that may "amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide", particularly against minorities, reported Reuters.

Iraqi security forces and allied groups including Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have also killed and abducted civilians, it said. "Some of these incidents may have been reprisals against persons perceived to support or be associated with ISIL (Islamic State)," it added.

At least 18,802 civilians were killed in violence in Iraq from January 2014 to October 2015, and 36,245 civilians were wounded, the report said, calling the figures "obscene".

The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq and the U.N. human rights office estimated that 3,500 people were "currently being held in slavery" by Islamic State, which seized mainly Sunni-populated areas in the north and west in 2014.

The Sunni Islamists, who claim responsibility for suicide bombings in Baghdad against Shia mosques and markets, should face prosecution for international crimes, said Francesco Motta, director of the U.N. human rights office in Iraq.

Between 800 and 900 children in Mosul had been abducted for military and religious training, the report said.