| Camp Speicher massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of theIslamic State invasion of Iraq and thePersecution of Shias by the Islamic State | |
 Picture ofCamp Speicher in January of 2005, when it was still used as aUnited States military installation before being transferred to the Iraqi government in 2011. | |
  Camp Speicher Location within Iraq | |
| Location | 34°36′36″N43°40′48″E / 34.61000°N 43.68000°E /34.61000; 43.68000 Tikrit,Iraq |
| Date | 12 June 2014; 11 years ago (12 June 2014) |
| Target | Cadets of theIraqi Armed Forces |
Attack type | |
| Deaths | 1,095–1,700[1][2] |
| Victims | Shia Muslims |
| Perpetrator | Islamic State |
| Motive | Anti-Shia sentiment |
TheCamp Speicher massacre was amass killing that occurred inTikrit,Iraq on 12 June 2014. TheIslamic State (IS) captured between 5,000 and 10,000 unarmedcadets of theIraqi Armed Forces in the vicinity ofCamp Speicher during theNorthern Iraq offensive.[3][4][5]
Camp Speicher is a largemilitary base located inSaladin Governorate,Iraq, approximately 10 kilometres (6 miles) northwest ofTikrit and 170 kilometres (105 miles) north ofBaghdad, founded in 1973 bySaddam Hussein as anair base for theIraqi Air Force. It was captured by theUnited States during the2003 invasion of Iraq and was occupied by theUnited States Army for the remainder of theIraq War. The United States handed over Camp Speicher to the Iraqi government in 2011, being recommissioned as an Iraqi Air Force base and a regionaltraining facility for theIraqi Armed Forces.
TheIslamic State (IS), a risingSunni MuslimSalafi jihadist militant group, established itself in northeasternSyria during theSyrian Civil War.From December 2013 to June 2014, IS made a number ofsmall but successful offensives into Iraq'sAl Anbar Governorate, capturing the major cities ofRamadi andFallujah. On 4 June 2014, the full-scaleIS invasion of Iraq was launched, which made rapid advances into northern Iraq, and the city of Tikrit was captured on 11 June. IS forces soon surrounded Camp Speicher, where at least 10,000 unarmedcadets of the Iraqi military were present and thrown into disarray. Many of the cadets fled from the base, some changing into their civilian clothes to avoid detection, but most were quickly captured.
Several survivors later testified that their senior officers in the camp had forced them to leave the camp.[3][6] Hassan Khalil, one survivor, who managed to escape by pretending to be dead under another corpse and fleeing at night, said: "Our chief officers are the reason behind the killings. They forced us to leave Speicher. They assured us there was a safe passage, that it was guarded by the tribes, and told us not to wear uniforms." The Iraqi government and national television denied that story. They said the cadets forced their way out of the camps after the military had already dispatched special forces to the dangerous camps' area to secure them, and that they had been warned against leaving.[7]
Four hundred cadets ordered to leave Camp Speicher before the attack were arrested by government forces and are missing.[8]
Peter Bouckaert, the emergencies director forHuman Rights Watch (HRW), stated: "The photos and satellite images from Tikrit provide strong evidence of a horrible war crime that needs further investigation. [ISIS] and other abusive forces should know that the eyes of Iraqis and the world are watching".[9]
The photos show maskedIslamic State (IS) fighters tying up the cadets and loading them up on trucks, with other photographs showing IS fighters killing dozens of the cadets withassault rifles while they are lying down.[10] ISpropaganda videos show them shooting at hundreds of men lined up inmass graves in the desert.[11] Some cadets faked their death, covering themselves with blood and escaping at night.[10]
IS released footage of the massacre as part of their propaganda videoUpon the Prophetic Methodology. The cadets are seen being crammed into trucks, some of them wearingcivilian clothes to hide their military uniforms. Most of them are lying on the ground, with their jeans stripped to revealcamouflage uniforms underneath. Some of the prisoners were forced to defameIraq's prime minister,Nouri al-Maliki, while others were forced to shout "long live the Islamic State". Some of them were beaten to death with a rifle. The killing methods varied, from shooting the cadets one by one to shooting them while lying down many times to ensure death.[citation needed] Some cadets were shot and dumped into theTigris river.[12]
TheIraqi government asserted that 57 members of theArab Socialist Ba'ath Party had taken part in the massacre.[13] Although pictures showed that every armed man was from IS, the government stated "Without any doubts and suspicion, all of these criminals are from the banned Ba'ath Party."[14] The Minister of Defense,Sa'dun al-Dulaimi, stated that the massacre was notsectarian in nature.[15] Although the spokesman of theIraqi Armed Forces, Qasim Atta, stated that there were almost 11,000 cadets and soldiers missing fromCamp Speicher; he also stated that thousands were executed in or near the presidential palaces, the al-Bu Agail region, and the Badoush prison by sectarian violence.[16]
On the 2nd of September, more than 100 members of the families of the killed and missing cadets and soldiers broke into theIraqi Parliament and hit three of thesecurity guards.[17] After a day, a session started in the parliament with the attendance of representatives of the families andSa'dun al-Dulaimi, along with other military officials to discuss the massacre.[18]
On 16 September, theKurdishAsayish arrested four people suspected to be involved in the massacre in southernKirkuk.[19] An unnamed security source stated, "The operation was executed by relying on intelligence information to arrest them."[20]
On 18 September, the Iraqi Human Rights ministry stated that as of 17 September, the total number of missing soldiers and cadets was 1,095,[21] denying the most popular figure of 1,700 soldiers having been killed. The ministry added, "The ministry relied in its statistics on spreading forms on the families of the missing people inBaghdad and the othergovernorate within its quest to document the crimes and violations that the terrorist group of theIslamic State is committing towards our people."[22] The Iraqi government ordered them to pay 10 millionIraqi dinar (equivalent to US$8,600) to the families of the missing cadets.[22]
Following theIraqi forces' victory over IS in Tikrit in early April 2015, mass graves containing some of the murdered cadets were located and the decomposed corpses began to be exhumed.[23] Twoidentical twin brothers who were alleged perpetrators of the massacre were arrested inForssa,Finland, in December 2015.[24] The suspects were identified from IS propaganda videos in which the executions of 11 men took place.[citation needed] Police did not disclose whether the men had made applications forasylum in Finland.[25] On 13 December 2016, the 24-year-old twins were charged with murder and committing awar crime for allegedly killing unarmed cadets, as well as "aggravated assault with terrorist aims".[26] They were acquitted by the Pirkanmaa District Court in May 2017. After the prosecution appealed the ruling, they were again acquitted by the Turku Court of Appeal in February 2020, due to lack of evidence of the brothers' involvement in the massacre. Some witnesses had testified that the brothers were not present,[27] and it was also impossible to tell which of the brothers to accuse of any particular action, since they were identical twins.[26]
In August 2016, 36 men were executed byhanging for their part in the massacre.[28] On 6 September 2016, three mass graves were found by theKata’ib al-Imam Ali brigade containing the remains of over 30 people killed in the massacre.[29] In August 2017, 27 people weresentenced to death for their involvement in the massacre, and another 25 men were released due to lack of evidence.[30]
In May 2024, theIraqi National Intelligence Service arrested three suspects who had fled the country, for their involvement in the massacre.[31]
