The battle for Qayyara: ‘Local ISIS deserted the battlefield’
QAYYARA, Iraq—Four days after the liberation of Qayyara town, there were still Islamic State (ISIS) militants there, but all lying dead. Some of their bodies were discolored and others were riddled with bullets. The sky was blanketed with thick black smoke from the oil wells the retreating militants had set ablaze.
Residents of Qayyara told stories of militants gunned down by the Iraqi army, militants who were once the source of intimidation and fear among the people. The people of Qayyara recognized the dead militants one by one, the men who had ruled the town for at least for two years.
Omer Ibrahim, 26, shouted as he pointed his finger at a lifeless body next to him. “This one was French. He was a huge ISIS militant. When he walked, the earth shook under his feet. And now he lies here.”
The lifeless French militant lay slumped in front of a closed shop. Ibrahim recalled, “When the Iraqi army arrived to his body, I got to the spot immediately. They took his American rifle with them. His rifle was different from the others,” carried by other militants.
Ibrahim was one of the victims of ISIS’ strict laws. “One day I was passing by two ISIS militants and looking at them,” he recalled. “They stopped me saying ‘why are you looking at us?’ They captured me and flogged me 370 times.”
“The majority of ISIS leaders in Qayyara were Arabs, and the foreign militants were the fighters,” Ibrahim explained.
Ibrahim even knew about the militants’ salaries. “The salary of ISIS militants was around 85 to 100,000 IQD [less that $100] per month. But the foreign militants would receive $1,500,” fifteen times more.
“The foreign ISIS militants were the real fighters and many of those ready to become suicide bombers were from France and the Caucasus,” Ibrahim detailed. “The local ISIS militants were deserting the battlefields.”
In copies of ISIS’ al-Naba newspaper found by Rudaw in Qayyara, the terrorist group referred to its non-Arab members as “immigrants.” The newspaper is issued by ISIS on a weekly basis. An edition seemingly issued at the end of August 2016 included a “will” from Omer Shishani, one of the group’s most prominent leaders.
Shishani’s original name was Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili. He was born in 1986 and had been a sergeant in the Georgian army. Within ISIS, he was the war minister.
Amaq, a news agency affiliated with ISIS, announced his death on July 13, 2016 reporting he died in a fight in Sharqat, a town in southern Mosul.
In his will, Shishani raised the problem of discrimination of immigrants within ISIS and asked the group’s top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to “follow up on the immigrants’ work. And finally I am asking you as the leader of the believers not to forget the Caucuses.”
On July 9, the Iraqi army recaptured Qayyara airbase, the third largest airbase in Iraq, and fully liberated the town on August 27 after a three-day offensive, ending two years of ISIS rule in Qayyara.
According to residents, ISIS radicals disappeared overnight. But they left a shell of a town.
“It was at 10pm when the ISIS militants deployed in the streets. The foreign militants went to the forefront to halt any advance from the Iraqi army,” said Mustafa Ali, a resident of Qayyara.
“But at 12am,” Ali continued, “the Iraqi ISIS militants together with their families and civilians all fled to Hamam Ali. Only the foreign fighters stayed and did not give up.”
Foreigners within ISIS were considered superior to the locals, Ali believed, because “the [Iraqis] were given authority just to carry out temporary punishments and court affairs. But the foreign militants were given the authority to carry out executions.”
Younis Shaaban 49, recalled, “One day my wife went to the bazaar without wearing gloves. When the militants spotted her dressed that way, they immediately came and captured me. They fined me 50,000 ($42 US) and 100 lashes as punishment.”
Wearing a grey Arabic traditional thawb with a long white beard, Shaaban compared the behavior of local militants with the foreigners, saying “The locals were better for us. The foreigners were designated to carry out executions and beheadings, especially the Chinese and those from the Caucuses and the Filipinos.”
At least 300 civilians were killed at ISIS execution yards in Qayyara on various charges, especially allegedly aiding the Iraqi army and warplanes from the US-led coalition.
The laws of the militant group were strict and the punishments were severe. “Nobody was allowed to use mobile phones. If somebody was caught taking pictures with a mobile, tough punishments would await him,” a local told Rudaw.
According to ISIS documents Rudaw saw inside Qayyara, the foreign fighters, in the name of “accounting Diwan,” forcefully took money from the people.
Ahmed Abd Ibrahim owns a shoe shop in the town. He has receipts showing the money he paid to ISIS. "They took the money from me in the name of zakat [religious tax]," he explained.
Ibrahim escaped ISIS and fled to Baghdad, where Rudaw found him. "Fifteen days before Qayyara was liberated, I fled the town. One day [militants] came to my shop saying the equipment in my shop was worth 1,250,000 IQD [$1,058 US] so I was forced to pay 54,000 IQD [$46 US] as zakat to the Islamic State."
From what Ibrahim recalled, "Nobody dared to say I will not pay zakat. If somebody did, would definitely they would end up at the execution yards."
"One day a woman came to my shop to buy shoes. She lifted her veil to check the shoes. Passing militants near my shop spotted her immediately. They closed my shop for a week and charged me 50, 000 IQD as punishment."
Rattling off many other ISIS atrocities, he added "They were even punishing you if you did not go to the mosque to pray and the fine was 50,000 IQD and you had to sign a pledge promising you would go to the mosque next time."
In an effort to gain support from the population, ISIS said that the Iraqi army and the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militias would attack the town and slaughter the people. “But it was not true at all," Ibrahim said.
"The Iraqi army treated us well. We only feared the Hashd al-Shaabi. We all had decided to flee if they would have come to the town, because we were aware of what they did against the people of Fallujah. There they treated the people exactly how ISIS did."
Residents of Qayyara told stories of militants gunned down by the Iraqi army, militants who were once the source of intimidation and fear among the people. The people of Qayyara recognized the dead militants one by one, the men who had ruled the town for at least for two years.
Omer Ibrahim, 26, shouted as he pointed his finger at a lifeless body next to him. “This one was French. He was a huge ISIS militant. When he walked, the earth shook under his feet. And now he lies here.”
The lifeless French militant lay slumped in front of a closed shop. Ibrahim recalled, “When the Iraqi army arrived to his body, I got to the spot immediately. They took his American rifle with them. His rifle was different from the others,” carried by other militants.
Ibrahim was one of the victims of ISIS’ strict laws. “One day I was passing by two ISIS militants and looking at them,” he recalled. “They stopped me saying ‘why are you looking at us?’ They captured me and flogged me 370 times.”
“The majority of ISIS leaders in Qayyara were Arabs, and the foreign militants were the fighters,” Ibrahim explained.
Ibrahim even knew about the militants’ salaries. “The salary of ISIS militants was around 85 to 100,000 IQD [less that $100] per month. But the foreign militants would receive $1,500,” fifteen times more.
“The foreign ISIS militants were the real fighters and many of those ready to become suicide bombers were from France and the Caucasus,” Ibrahim detailed. “The local ISIS militants were deserting the battlefields.”
In copies of ISIS’ al-Naba newspaper found by Rudaw in Qayyara, the terrorist group referred to its non-Arab members as “immigrants.” The newspaper is issued by ISIS on a weekly basis. An edition seemingly issued at the end of August 2016 included a “will” from Omer Shishani, one of the group’s most prominent leaders.
Shishani’s original name was Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili. He was born in 1986 and had been a sergeant in the Georgian army. Within ISIS, he was the war minister.
Amaq, a news agency affiliated with ISIS, announced his death on July 13, 2016 reporting he died in a fight in Sharqat, a town in southern Mosul.
In his will, Shishani raised the problem of discrimination of immigrants within ISIS and asked the group’s top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to “follow up on the immigrants’ work. And finally I am asking you as the leader of the believers not to forget the Caucuses.”
On July 9, the Iraqi army recaptured Qayyara airbase, the third largest airbase in Iraq, and fully liberated the town on August 27 after a three-day offensive, ending two years of ISIS rule in Qayyara.
According to residents, ISIS radicals disappeared overnight. But they left a shell of a town.
“It was at 10pm when the ISIS militants deployed in the streets. The foreign militants went to the forefront to halt any advance from the Iraqi army,” said Mustafa Ali, a resident of Qayyara.
“But at 12am,” Ali continued, “the Iraqi ISIS militants together with their families and civilians all fled to Hamam Ali. Only the foreign fighters stayed and did not give up.”
Foreigners within ISIS were considered superior to the locals, Ali believed, because “the [Iraqis] were given authority just to carry out temporary punishments and court affairs. But the foreign militants were given the authority to carry out executions.”
Younis Shaaban 49, recalled, “One day my wife went to the bazaar without wearing gloves. When the militants spotted her dressed that way, they immediately came and captured me. They fined me 50,000 ($42 US) and 100 lashes as punishment.”
Wearing a grey Arabic traditional thawb with a long white beard, Shaaban compared the behavior of local militants with the foreigners, saying “The locals were better for us. The foreigners were designated to carry out executions and beheadings, especially the Chinese and those from the Caucuses and the Filipinos.”
At least 300 civilians were killed at ISIS execution yards in Qayyara on various charges, especially allegedly aiding the Iraqi army and warplanes from the US-led coalition.
The laws of the militant group were strict and the punishments were severe. “Nobody was allowed to use mobile phones. If somebody was caught taking pictures with a mobile, tough punishments would await him,” a local told Rudaw.
According to ISIS documents Rudaw saw inside Qayyara, the foreign fighters, in the name of “accounting Diwan,” forcefully took money from the people.
Ahmed Abd Ibrahim owns a shoe shop in the town. He has receipts showing the money he paid to ISIS. "They took the money from me in the name of zakat [religious tax]," he explained.
Ibrahim escaped ISIS and fled to Baghdad, where Rudaw found him. "Fifteen days before Qayyara was liberated, I fled the town. One day [militants] came to my shop saying the equipment in my shop was worth 1,250,000 IQD [$1,058 US] so I was forced to pay 54,000 IQD [$46 US] as zakat to the Islamic State."
From what Ibrahim recalled, "Nobody dared to say I will not pay zakat. If somebody did, would definitely they would end up at the execution yards."
"One day a woman came to my shop to buy shoes. She lifted her veil to check the shoes. Passing militants near my shop spotted her immediately. They closed my shop for a week and charged me 50, 000 IQD as punishment."
Rattling off many other ISIS atrocities, he added "They were even punishing you if you did not go to the mosque to pray and the fine was 50,000 IQD and you had to sign a pledge promising you would go to the mosque next time."
In an effort to gain support from the population, ISIS said that the Iraqi army and the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militias would attack the town and slaughter the people. “But it was not true at all," Ibrahim said.
"The Iraqi army treated us well. We only feared the Hashd al-Shaabi. We all had decided to flee if they would have come to the town, because we were aware of what they did against the people of Fallujah. There they treated the people exactly how ISIS did."