Officials: new Speicher mass graves found near Tikrit
TIKRIK, Iraq - Iraqi joint forces have discovered at least four mass graves containing the remains of Shiite fighters in Abu Ajeel village, east of Tikrit, military officials have said.
The Iraqi military announced Wednesday the victims were from formerly US-run Contingency Operating Base Speicher where nearly 1,700 military trainees were reportedly killed in June after Iraqi army forces withdrew from Tikrit city in the face of an ISIS onslaught into the region.
The graves were identified by Iraq’s special committee in charge of investigating mass killings by ISIS militants. Iraqi Shiite leaders have been calling on the international community to recognize the Speicher mass killing as a genocide.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq said in September the murders classified as an international crime, not a crime of genocide.
In a series of Tweets and shocking photos posted in June to their social-media sites, the ISIS militants were showing slaughtering the Speicher victims.
Led by the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Shiite militias, the military campaign to recapture Tikrit is still ongoing with reported advances against ISIS fighters.
The Iraqi military announced Wednesday the victims were from formerly US-run Contingency Operating Base Speicher where nearly 1,700 military trainees were reportedly killed in June after Iraqi army forces withdrew from Tikrit city in the face of an ISIS onslaught into the region.
The graves were identified by Iraq’s special committee in charge of investigating mass killings by ISIS militants. Iraqi Shiite leaders have been calling on the international community to recognize the Speicher mass killing as a genocide.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq said in September the murders classified as an international crime, not a crime of genocide.
In a series of Tweets and shocking photos posted in June to their social-media sites, the ISIS militants were showing slaughtering the Speicher victims.
Led by the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Shiite militias, the military campaign to recapture Tikrit is still ongoing with reported advances against ISIS fighters.