9 June 2017

 

In its May 2012 Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Iraq, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) writes that there were “reports that members of the army, security and intelligence apparatus of the former regime continue to be targeted by armed groups” (UNHCR, 31 May 2012, p. 16). In an endnote, UNHCR refers to the following incidents reported in the media in 2011 and 2012:

“· On 19 February 2012, a hand grenade attached to a private car detonated in Khanaqeen (Diyala) and wounded Maj. Wadi Ahmed, a fire officer of the former regime, and four of his relatives; Bryar Mohammed, Five wounded in Jalawla Bridge hand grendade blast, AKnews, 20 February 2012, http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/3/291106/.

· On 13 February 2012, gunmen opened fire on a lieutenant in the former army, in Mahaweel district (Babel), wounding him; NINA, An officer in the former army injured in Babel. Hilla / NINA/--An officer in the former army injured today by an armed attack occurred in Babel, 13 February 2012, http://www.ninanews.com/english/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=FKEKJH.

· On 21 December 2011, an ex-officer of the former Iraqi Army was shot dead by unidentified gunmen using guns with silencers in front of his house in Baghdad’s northern Adhamiyah district; Yazn al-Shammari, Ex-army officer shot dead in Baghdad, AKnews, 21 December 2011, http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/3/279682/.

· On 22 July 2011, gunmen opened fire from a speeding car on Ibrahim Shueib Al-Jumeily, a doctor and Lt-Brigadier in the former Iraqi Army, killing him on the spot in the city of Kirkuk; Aswat al-Iraq, Doctor in Iraq’s former Iraqi Army killed in Kirkuk, 23 July 2011, http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=143890&l=1.

· On 22 June 2011, a sticky bomb attached to a car exploded, killing Qahtan Anbar, a senior official in the former Ba’ath Party, in Ba’quba (Diyala). In a separate incident, a sticky bomb attached to his car killed a retired lieutenant colonel who served in Saddam Hussein’s army, in Baghdad’s southern Saidiya district; Reuters Alertnet, Security developments in Iraq, June 22, 22 June 2011, http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/factbox-security-developments-in-iraq-june-22/; NINA, Baathist official, Mayor assassinated in Baquba, 22 June 2011, http://www.ninanews.com/english/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=FHDHDH.

· On 13 June 2011, gunmen using a gun with a silencer assassinated Brig.-General, Abdul-Wahid Attiya, a former officer in Saddam Husseins’ Army, in the city of Kirkuk; Aswat al-Iraq, Iraq’s former Army officer assassinated in Kirkuk, 14 June 2011, http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=143139&l=1.

· On 22 February 2011, gunmen using guns with silencers shot dead Ismael Mohammed Mehdi, an officer at the rank of Brigadier in the former Iraqi Army, in Ba’quba (Diyala); NINA, Former officer assassinated in Muqdadiya, 22 February 2011, http://www.ninanews.com/english/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=FFIEMG.

· On 21 February 2011, gunmen killed an officer at the rank of colonel of the former Iraqi Army in Askari neighborhood, northeastern Ba’quba (Diyala); NINA, Former officer assassinated in Muqdadiya, 22 February 2011, http://www.ninanews.com/english/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=FFIEMG.

· On 12 January 2011, gunmen killed a civilian after chasing him from house to house in eastern Mosul. The victim was a former noncommissioned officer in Saddam Hussein’s army; Reuters Alertnet, Security developments in Iraq, January 12, 12 January 2011, http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/factbox-security-developments-in-iraq-jan-12/” (UNHCR, 31 May 2012, p. 95, endnote 295)

In July 2014, the news agency Reuters published an article focussing on the relationship between the group Islamic State (IS) that had captured the city of Mosul, and elements of the former regime. It mentions that IS has rounded up between 25 and 60 ex-military officers and Baath party members:

“In the past week, Sunni militants who overran the city of Mosul last month have rounded up between 25 and 60 senior ex-military officers and members of former dictator Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party, residents and relatives say. The crackdown potentially signals a rift in the Sunni alliance that helped secure Islamic State fighters swift victory when they rode in from the desert to capture Mosul last month. The northern city of around 2 million people is by far the largest to fall to the group now known as the Islamic State and a central part of its plans for an Islamist caliphate. When the group, then known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, seized large swathes of Iraq at lightning speed last month, it was supported by other Sunni Muslim armed groups. Tribes and former loyalists of Saddam's Baath party were eager to hit back at Iraq's Shi'ite leaders, even if they did not share ISIL's vision of a caliphate ruled on mediaeval Islamic precepts. But now, leaders of those groups are being ordered to swear allegiance to the new caliphate.

‘I think (the Islamic State) wants to give the message that they are the only group in the land, that people must follow them or give up their weapons,’ said provincial governor Atheel Nujaifi, who is in touch with residents by phone after having fled to the Kurdish-controlled city of Arbil as Mosul fell.

Shi'ite parliamentarian Haidar Abadi said the Islamic State was taking pre-emptive action to head off potential challenges. ‘ISIL knows very well they can't stay if these groups move against them. They are not giving them the opportunity.’ ‘ISIL called on their friends who are ex-Baathists to cooperate and they did. And now ISIL is kicking them out. Some will pledge allegiance. Those they don't believe will pledge allegiance, they will execute,’ he said. An Iraqi national intelligence officer, confirming the arrest by militants of Saddam-era officers, said the motive was: ‘to panic people, or as revenge, or in the event that they would cooperate with the Iraqi government’.

[…] Among those Nujaifi said had been rounded up by the Islamists were General Waad Hannoush, a Special Forces commander under Saddam, and Saifeddin al-Mashhadani, a Baath Party leader featured as the three of clubs in the U.S. Army's ‘Iraqi Most Wanted’ playing card deck during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The governor and some residents told Reuters that they believe ISIL's bold declaration of a caliphate last week had caused local discontent, possibly prompting the group to act to head off the first stirrings of resistance.

[…] Although ISIL, the Sunni tribes and veterans of Saddam's Baath party emerged as allies last month, they have a history of enmity. Many of those nostalgic for Saddam teamed up with Sunni tribes to fight against the Islamic State's predecessor, Al Qaeda in Iraq, during the U.S. ‘surge’ offensive in 2006-2007.

[…] Mosul has long harboured members of the Baathist militant group the Naqshbandi Army, believed to be headed by Saddam's lifelong confidant Ezzat Ibrahim al-Douri - king of spades in the U.S. deck and the highest-ranking Baathist to evade capture. Sunni tribesmen with far looser ties to the old regime could also pose a threat to the militants, but the Islamic state seems to be focusing for now on Baathists and former army officers.” (Reuters, 8 July 2014)

The Kurdish media website Rudaw published two articles in April and June 2015 reporting on the killing of hundreds of former military and police officers by the Islamic State group:

“The Islamic State has reportedly killed hundreds of former military and police officers who were part of Iraqi security forces during Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, the Iraqi vice president announced. Vice President Osama Nujaifi, speaking in a press conference Thursday held in Tal Afar, said ’In the few past days, ISIS militias have killed 300 former police and [army] officers in Mosul.’ The Islamic State had earlier demanded former Iraqi Army officers join the group’s fighters in Mosul, a source inside the jihadist-held city told Rudaw on condition of anonymity. Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, fell to ISIS militants last year.” (Rudaw, 17 April 2015)

“The Islamic State has executed more than 130 retired Iraqi Army soldiers and former security officers in Mosul in a week-long purge of ex-soldiers suspected of potentially spying on the group’s movements and military bases, a well-placed source told Rudaw on Thursday. ’Over the past week, the bodies of 131 retired soldiers and security members have been transferred to the morgues of Mosul hospitals,’ said the source. [...] Mosul was home to many senior officers in the former Iraqi Army during the time of Saddam.” (Rudaw, 11 June 2015)

No corroborating information could be found in the sources consulted by ACCORD regarding the events reported by Rudaw above.

 

The National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) published several articles in 2016 reporting on executions of members of the former military by the Islamic State (called Daash or Daesh by NINA). In one case, a military pilot and his son were killed:

“Daash organization executed three of the former Iraqi army officers, including pilot officer, south of the city of Mosul, according to local residents. The residents told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that ’the elements of Daash carried out the death sentence against three officers of various ranks, including pilot lieutenant, after being arrested from their homes in Mosul,’ noting that ’the officers refused to work with the organization after the organization offered large amounts of money to work with them,‘ adding that the death sentence carried out in Hammam al-Alil district, 20 km south of Mosul’” (NINA, 1 May 2016)

“Daash executed three officers of the former Iraqi army after refusing to work with the organization, south of Mosul, according to local residents. The residents told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that ‘elements of Daash carried out the death sentence against three officers of various ranks after Shyriah Court to Daash issued the death by firing squad inside the stadium in Qayyarah district. They added that the officers who executed by the organization had refused to cooperate and work with Daash, where the organization arrested from their home east of Mosul.’” (NINA, 22 May 2016)

“Daash Organization executed former military pilot and his son after being arrested from their home in Arabi area, in northern Mosul, according to local residents. The residents told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that ‘Daash militants carried out the death sentence against Colonel pilot of the former army (Walid Ibrahim Salim) and his son Captain in the Second Division (Khalid Walid Ibrahim) after being arrested from their home since approximately three months.’ They noted that ‘Daash carried out the death sentence near St. Mar Georgis Church, north of Mosul.’” (NINA, 2 July 2016)

“Daesh militants blew up a mosque and executed four officers in the former army in the district of Al-Baaj west of Mosul. [...] On the other hand, Daesh executed four officers in the former army after being seized from their homes amid Baaj, for refusing to cooperate. A security source said: ‘Daesh executed the officers, who are of various ranks, and handed their bodies to the forensic medicine in Mosul.’” (NINA, 19 September 2016)

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in their June 2015 Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Armed Conflict in Iraq (covering the period between December 2014 and April 2015) mention the following incidents involving officers of the former regime:

“On 1 April, UNAMI/OHCHR received reports from Salah al-Din that members of certain militia groups allied to Government forces had begun to loot civilian homes in newly liberated areas of Tikrit. Sources claimed that a number of shops and homes had been looted and torched in Tikrit’s Zuhor quarter, Itibba’a street, Arbaeen street, Qadisiya quarter, al-Asri quarter, and Shuhadaa quarter during the first 48 hours of the liberation of Tikrit City. Between the afternoon of 3 April and the morning of 4 April, an additional 700 homes were reportedly looted and burned, and 200 more were allegedly detonated – particularly those belonging to former officers of the Iraqi Army under Saddam Hussein.” (UNAMI/OHCHR, 12 June 2015, p. 29)

“And on 17 April, in al-Sankar village of Abu alKhaseeb district, a Sunni sheikh from al-Ghanim tribe was shot dead in front of his house. The sheikh was a prominent community member and had reportedly served in the intelligence services during the Saddam Hussein regime.” (UNAMI/OHCHR, 12 June 2015, p. 31)

In its December 2016 report (covering the period between November 2015 and September 2016), UNAMI and OHCHR write:

“Although such cases were not frequent in the south of Iraq, UNAMI/OHCHR recorded some killings of members of the Sunni community and two members of the former regime in the area. On 16 March, in Abu Al-Khaseeb district, a man was killed, shot at point-blank range by unidentified gunmen. He was the head of a sub-tribe (al-Refai).

[…] On 29 April, unidentified gunmen travelling in a vehicle (reportedly without a number plate) shot and killed a man in the al-Ma’aqal area of central Basra. The victim was a high-ranking member of the Ba’ath party. On 27 September, another former member of the Ba’ath party was shot and killed in the al-Junaina area of central Basra.” (UNAMI/OHCHR, 30 December 2016, p. 30)

 

 

References: (all links accessed 9 June 2017)

·      NINA - National Iraqi News Agency: Daash Executes Three Former Officers In Mosul, 1 May 2016
http://ninanews.com/News_Details.aspx?UhFRG%252bmUcdRfox9yuUBtSw%253d%253d

·      NINA - National Iraqi News Agency: Daash Executes Three Officers Of The Former Iraqi Army In Mosul, 22 May 2016
http://ninanews.com/News_Details.aspx?8s3JwK0uyVmqKMGIZ0n2iQ%253d%253d

·      NINA - National Iraqi News Agency: Daash Executes Former Army Colonel And His Son North Of Mosul, 2 July 2016
http://ninanews.com/News_Details.aspx?tZD2aJ4hxm2JRmk0H6hLzw%253d%253d

·      NINA - National Iraqi News Agency: Daesh Executes 4 Officer Of the Former Army, Blows Up A Mosque In Mosul, 19 September 2016
http://ninanews.com/News_Details.aspx?aP6k%252bDnHKyb7YKhMYlZfGQ%253d%253d

·      Reuters: Islamic State rounds up ex-Baathists to eliminate potential rivals in Iraq's Mosul, 8 July 2014
http://news.trust.org//item/20140708121657-gbkgv

·      Rudaw: Iraqi VP: 300 ex-security officers executed in Mosul, 17 April 2015
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/170420153

·      Rudaw: Source: ISIS executes 131 retired Iraqi officers, 11 June 2015
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/11062015

·      UNAMI - United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq; OHCHR - United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Armed Conflict in Iraq: 11 December 2014 – 30 April 2015, 12 June 2015
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IQ/UNAMI_OHCHR_4th_POCReport-11Dec2014-30April2015.pdf

·      UNAMI - United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq; OHCHR - United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Armed Conflict in Iraq: 1 November 2015 – 30 September 2016, 30 December 2016 (published by UNAMI, available at ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1226_1488889078_unami-ohchr-report-on-poc-in-iraq-01nov2015-30sep2016-final-13jan2017r-copy.pdf

·      UNHCR - UN High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Iraq, 31 May 2012 (available at ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/2016_1338807174_4fc77d522.pdf