According to western and pro-Iraqi government press, the residents of the city were de facto prisoners, forbidden to leave the city unless they left ISIL a significant collateral of family members, personal wealth and property. They may then leave the city after paying a significant "departure tax" for a three-day pass (for a higher fee they can surrender their home, pay the fee and leave for good) and if those with a three-day pass fail to return within that time, their assets would be seized and their family would be killed.