The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) revealed new details on Sunday regarding the “Speicher Massacre” in Salah al-Din Governorate, which occurred during the control of ISIS over the province in 2014.
In a report obtained by Shia Waves Agency, the mission stated that “in the compounds of the presidential palaces, after consulting with ISIS’s top leadership, the ruler of Salah al-Din, affiliated with the terrorist group, ordered that repentance be offered to Sunnis while Shias were to be killed. Members of ISIS were then deployed to four or five execution sites throughout the complex.”
The report further explained, “The captives were gathered in groups and taken to execution sites where they were either lying on the ground or kneeling before being shot at close range. The bodies were buried in mass graves within the palace complex or thrown into the river.”
It continued, “The bodies of the victims who were executed and thrown into the river floated on the surface of the Tigris for days after the incident. The remains of the buried victims that were recovered indicate that 97% of those executed were young males aged 35 or younger, most of whom were wearing civilian clothes.”
The report also highlighted that “the killings continued for at least three days, involving the active participation of about 100 to 150 ISIS members. Among the perpetrators were ISIS fighters who initially entered Tikrit on June 11, escapees from prisons, and local sleeper cells affiliated with the terrorist organization.”
The killings were documented by ISIS, which later released at least two videos showing shocking scenes of abuse and execution. One of the videos, titled “Camp Speicher: The Mass Killing Method and the Intent of Genocide—Kill Them Wherever You Find Them”, clearly illustrates ISIS’s genocidal policy against Shias.”
The mission also noted that “between June 10 and approximately June 13 or 14, many residents of Tikrit, Al-Alam, and surrounding areas saved hundreds of soldiers and students who were attempting to flee from ISIS.”
According to the Iraqi government, the ISIS terrorist group executed about 2,000 people by shooting, including aviation college students and security personnel, at a military base known as “Speicher” in Salah al-Din Governorate when it took control of the area in June 2014.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacre at the time, releasing photos and videos showing the militants surrounding soldiers at the military base before shooting them at close range.
In total, Iraqi authorities sentenced 112 individuals convicted of participating in the “Speicher Massacre” to death between 2016 and 2021, with 76 death sentences carried out according to official statistics from the judicial authorities.
