Sign In / Up

Add contribution as a guest

Your email will not be displayed publicly
Benefit of signing in/signing up to personalize comment

Comment as a guest

Your email will not be displayed publicly
Benefit of signing in/signing up to personalize comment

Login

Not a member Register   Forgot Password
or connect using
 

Email

 

Rudaw

Iraq

Iraqi army denies it killed, drove tank over a 'child soldier'

By Rudaw 12/11/2016
An Iraqi army tank pictured during a military operation against Islamic State group jihadists, north of Fallujah in August 2015. Photo: AFP
An Iraqi army tank pictured during a military operation against Islamic State group jihadists, north of Fallujah in August 2015. Photo: AFP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--The Commander of Nineveh Operations denied that its forces executed and then drove a tank over an alleged ISIS child soldier as could be seen in a video that went viral on social media on Friday.


The video shows some men in military uniform apparently in a desert interrogating a terrified child.


One of the men is heard speaking in Iraqi Arabic saying that the child is an ISIS militant, but the child appeals for his release. "Release me," the child says, "I did nothing."


Then one of the men drags him several meters and puts him in front of a tank.


"How is it Daesh?" a man is heard asking as the child, now lying in front of the tank, appears to have sustained some injuries to both of his legs and is unable to move. The tank driver is ordered to run over him, but first one of the men shoots him multiple times.


The video then shows the child flattened as the tank drives over his body.


The video is not good quality, but it appears to show one of men wearing a military uniform with the badge of a flag possibly bearing the same colors of the Iraqi flag.


Rudaw cannot independently verify the video, nor can it tell where or when the incident was filmed.


The Iraqi military has denied that the soldiers were from the army.


“We confirm here that the video belongs to the Daesh mobs and it becomes clear through analyzing the scene which shows individuals who wear non-military clothes different from that worn by the Iraqi army,” Major General Najim al-Jabouri said in a statement published by the Iraqi War Media Office on Friday night.


“It also becomes clear from the type of the guns as shown in the scene that they are the same guns used by Daesh militants. Also confining the video to a limited area is an attempt to avoid showing the landmarks of the area,” the statement added.


Jabouri said the release of the video comes in the context of what he called “the misleading media,” and called on the media and rights organizations to first verify such videos before making accusations.


The video comes one day after a report by Amnesty International called on the Iraqi government to investigate reports that “fighters wearing Iraqi Federal Police uniforms tortured and extrajudicially executed residents in villages they captured south of Mosul.”


Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in response on Thursday that he holds Amnesty International responsible for “endangering the security” of Mosul citizens by publishing “false information” regarding “unlawful killings” in some liberated areas around the city.


“The truth is that they were local residents who killed Daesh militants,” Abadi said.


The Iraqi prime minister said reports like this make Mosul residents flee their homes.

Comments

 
Data pager
Previous
Page size:
PageSizeComboBox
select
JamKurd | 12/11/2016
I tend to believe the commander. Although it is perfectly fine to exercise quick judgement on adult Daesh Who are caught (not surrendered). Absolutely, children should not be harmed, unless in self defense against a suicide bomber regardless of age. To those who are shedding crocodile tears on Daesh captures. My response as Trump said : Go f..k ur selves.
Ben | 12/11/2016
“We confirm here that the video belongs to the Daesh mobs and it becomes clear through analyzing the scene" Marvelous, they havn't investigated anything but can confirm that the video is staged by daash, and can this genius Iraqi Major explain how daash got their hands on a Iraqi tank? and not just any tank but an Abram tank! if you're going to lie at least come up with something better
..... | 12/11/2016
I cannot imagine why the Iraqi government would be interested in doing that. But i could imagine that Daesh could have an interest. Rather being unable to attack the Iraqi army, they maybe wanted to attack its image to present the army in a negative light to the world.
vonsesim | 12/11/2016
Al-Jabouri blames ISIS. Al-Abadi blames local residents while condemning Amnesty International. This smells fishy.
Major | 12/11/2016
This video was promoted by Iraq soldiers on Twitter and now this Major clown wants to spin it. He is learning from his American Masters.

Be Part of Your Rudaw!

Share your stories, photos and videos with Rudaw, and quite possibly the world.

What You Say

Shawn | 9/5/2017 10:24:09 PM
YES 100% YES TO INDEPENDENCE KURDISTAN
Alan | 9/6/2017 1:29:53 PM
Why America oppose this referendum if they are a ally? Because they are no ally, the first statment against the referendum after the results will...
Kurdistan independence referendum campaigning has officially begun
| yesterday at 12:14 | (7)
Whya | 9/6/2017 11:16:28 AM
So the ballot is in all minor and appressing languages but not in Kurmancî dialect which is the largest spoken after Sorani in there and in all...
Kurdistan referendum commission reveals four-language sample ballot
| 9 hours ago | (1)
yassir Al-Fekaiki | 9/6/2017 10:08:44 AM
I very much doubt Rudaw would publish this comment, as many others before it but With all due respect, they were already divided as Iraqi opposition...
Help the Ezidis | 9/6/2017 10:57:23 AM
After World War II Russia in 1948 insisted on dividing the Korea peninsula in two parts: North- and South-Korea. You can today see how good that...
Barzani: Kurdistan is in an Iraq divided along sectarian, religious lines
| 11 hours ago | (2)
JamKurd | 9/6/2017 2:07:59 AM
How dumb can this commission be. What do they mean by "record their names to find out how many people are affected?!!!" People want to vote not...
yassir Al-fekaiki | 9/6/2017 10:17:52 AM
We already know the outcome of this referendum that shall be a majority YES, however the process and the basis this referendum is being carried out...
Online diaspora voter registration extended
| yesterday at 06:21 | (2)

Elsewhere on Rudaw

0.359 seconds