Captured Iraqi soldiers 'murdered by militants'

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/15/captured-iraqi-soldiers-executed-isis-militants

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The Islamist group that has seized much of northern Iraq has posted photos that appear to show its fighters shooting dead dozens of captured Iraqi soldiers in a province north of the capital, Baghdad.

The pictures on a militant website appear to show masked fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) loading captives on to flatbed trucks before forcing them to lie face-down in a shallow ditch with their arms tied behind their backs. The final images appear to show the bodies of the captives soaked in blood after being shot.

Captions say the killings were carried out to avenge the death of an Isis commander, Abdul-Rahman al-Beilawy, whose death was reported by both the government and Isis shortly before the al-Qaida splinter group captured Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit in a lightning offensive.

Iraq's top military spokesman, Lt Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, confirmed the photos' authenticity on Sunday and said he was aware of cases of mass murder of captured Iraqi soldiers in areas held by Isis.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay warned on Friday of "murder of all kinds" and other war crimes in Iraq, and said the number killed in recent days might run into the hundreds, while the number of wounded could approach 1,000. Speaking in Geneva, she said her office had received reports that militants rounded up and killed Iraqi soldiers as well as 17 civilians in a single street in Mosul.

Her office heard of "summary executions and extrajudicial killings" after Isis militants overran Iraqi cities and towns, the statement said.

Most of the soldiers who appear in the pictures are in civilian clothes. Some are shown wearing military uniforms underneath, indicating they may have hastily disguised themselves as civilians to try to escape.

Many soldiers and policemen left their uniforms and equipment behind as the militants swept into Mosul, Tikrit and surrounding areas.

The captions did not provide a date or location, but Moussawi said the killings took place in Salahuddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital.