Videos appear to show Iraqi troops killing Mosul detainees
IRBIL, Iraq — Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned videos circulating on social media purportedly showing Iraqi forces killing and beating suspected Islamic State fighters in Mosul.
Two videos were posted to Facebook earlier this week, a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared “total victory” in Mosul.
A spokesman for Iraq's Defense Ministry said he had not seen the videos but that such incidents will not be tolerated.
Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Khudhari told the Associated Press by phone from Baghdad that soldiers have “very clear instructions and guidance” to hand over suspected IS members for interrogation, “then to be sent to the court for trial.” He said any soldiers committing violations will be tried in a military court.
Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry, said officials were aware of such images and that an investigation has been launched.
“We looked and suspended a number of those forces shown in those pictures and there is currently an investigation being conducted,” he told Pentagon reporters by video conference, using an interpreter.
He added that “there might be some misbehavior or inappropriate conduct by some of the forces, yes, but the investigation is going on. We are against any violation against any human being and this is the position of the government.”
In one of the videos, soldiers are seen shouting at, kicking and beating several men — apparently captured IS fighters — in a room. One man's shirt is splattered with fresh blood. Several are dragged out of the room.
“Is this one with Daesh or not?” one soldier is heard saying, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group and shouting at a man cowering in a corner. The man is dragged outside, and the camera follows.
The soldiers carry the man to the edge of a high wall overlooking the Tigris River. There, soldiers are shooting the bodies of two men who had already been thrown to the ground below. The soldiers throw the other man over the edge, then fire bullets into his body as well.
In the background, other soldiers are seen opening fire on a fourth man sprawled on the ground.
Another video posted Tuesday was titled: “Our heroes in the Iraqi Army 16th division executing the remnants of Daesh terrorists in Old Mosul.”
The images show a man in Iraqi army fatigues gunning down an unarmed man kneeling in front of a car. The rounds fired raised a cloud of dust into the air. The caption said the video was dedicated to the “families of the martyrs (of the Mosul operation).”
Human Rights Watch Iraq researcher Belkis Wille said Thursday that “these horrific reports of mistreatment and murder have been met by silence from Baghdad, only further fostering the feeling of impunity among armed forces in Mosul.”