United Nations: The Speicher Massacre is a war crime against the Shias

The United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS (UNITAD) has concluded that the Speicher Massacre committed by ISIS terrorists constitutes a war crime against the Shias.

In his briefing to the Security Council on the developments of UNITAD's investigations into the crimes of ISIS in Iraq, Special Counselor Karim Khan said, “The attacks of ISIS on members of the Shia community from Tikrit Air Academy (Speicher) constitute war crimes of murder, torture, cruel treatment and attacks on dignity.”

"Investigations also concluded that ISIS incited genocide against Shia Muslims," he added.

He continued, "I can assure the Council that based on our independent criminal investigations, the UNITAD investigation team has reached clear and convincing evidence that ISIS has committed genocide against the Shias as a religious group."

Khan pointed out that "with the development of its capabilities, the terrorist organization deployed sulfur mustard produced as part of its program, including the March 2016 attack in which 40 rockets were fired at the Shia Turkmen town of Tuz Khurmatu."

The Camp Speicher massacre occurred on 12 June 2014, when ISIS terrorists killed 1,700 or more Iraqi people in an attack on Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq. At the time of the massacre, there were between 5,000 and 10,000 unarmed cadets in the camp, and ISIS terrorists selected the Shias for execution. It is considered one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in history.