logo
The river remembers: 11 years since Speicher massacre

The river remembers: 11 years since Speicher massacre

Shafaq News15-07-2025
2025-07-15T14:00:07+00:00
Shafaq News
Each year, Umm Ali returns to the banks of the Tigris with a candle in her hand and Quranic verses on her lips. She kneels beside the ruins of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, where her nephew was executed, whispering prayers into a place stained by violence and memory.
On June 12, 2014, ISIS militants overran Camp Speicher, a former Iraqi Air Force base near Tikrit. They captured nearly 2,000 unarmed military cadets—mostly young Shia men from central and southern Iraq—separated them by sect, stripped them of their IDs, and took them to execution sites across Saladin province. Many were shot en masse or dumped into the Tigris.
The massacre unfolded inside the lavish presidential complex once used by Saddam Hussein—a site meant to inspire awe and dominance. Marble corridors and manicured courtyards became killing grounds, transforming a symbol of tyranny into a theater of death.
Eleven years later, the Iraqi government continues to investigate the massacre. Over 1,200 bodies have been exhumed from mass graves, and DNA identification efforts are ongoing. Several suspects have been tried and executed, including 36 in 2016. In July 2025, German authorities extradited another fugitive involved in the killings following a joint operation with Iraqi intelligence.
Iraq is also working with international partners, including the UN Investigative Team for Accountability of Daesh (UNITAD), which has classified the Speicher massacre as a potential war crime and assists Iraqi courts in documenting and prosecuting those responsible.
'The Speicher crime is not just a local tragedy—it is a national one,' said lawyer Adnan al-Jubouri. 'It must stay in our collective memory as a rejection of sectarianism and violence.'
Residents of Tikrit continue to distance themselves from the attackers. 'This has nothing to do with our city or its tribes,' said Hassan al-Tikriti. 'It was a crime against humanity carried out by fanatics who do not represent us.'
Even as justice advances, many families are still searching for answers.
'We don't come here just to grieve,' Umm Ali said. 'We come to remind Iraq that justice must never be forgotten.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Arabic only: Baghdad blocks Kurdish language in some universities
Arabic only: Baghdad blocks Kurdish language in some universities

Shafaq News

time2 hours ago

  • Shafaq News

Arabic only: Baghdad blocks Kurdish language in some universities

Shafaq News – Baghdad Iraq's Ministry of Higher Education has barred the use of Kurdish in university instruction and exams across several northern provinces, mandating Arabic as the sole language of academic delivery. An official document dated July 15 cites Ministerial Order No. 14994, issued in September 2023, and reflects recommendations previously approved by Education Minister Ibrahim Namis al-Jubouri. All classroom teaching and test materials must be conducted in Arabic, according to the directive, which excludes Kurdish from use in higher education, particularly in Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Diyala—provinces with large Kurdish populations where the language remains widely spoken. Institutions that violate the order face legal consequences, the order warned. Although Kurdish holds official status under Article 4 of Iraq's constitution, its role in federal education remains limited. Critics argue the decision further marginalizes Kurds in federal institutions, undermining constitutional protections and deepening the educational divide between Baghdad-administered areas and the autonomous Kurdistan Region. By contrast, Kurdish serves as the primary medium of education in the Kurdistan Region. Local institutions, led by the Kurdish Academy in Erbil, have worked to bridge dialectal divides —chiefly between Sorani and Kurmanji—but progress is hampered by political fragmentation and the absence of a standardized script.

Turkish FM: Gaza ceasefire talks stopped on 3 points
Turkish FM: Gaza ceasefire talks stopped on 3 points

Shafaq News

time2 hours ago

  • Shafaq News

Turkish FM: Gaza ceasefire talks stopped on 3 points

Shafaq News – Ankara On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan revealed that negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza are stalled over three key points. In a televised interview, Fidan explained that the first point of contention concerns how humanitarian aid will be distributed in Gaza and which party will oversee it after a ceasefire is declared, noting that Hamas wants the United Nations to handle aid delivery, while Israel opposes this arrangement. The second issue relates to the withdrawal of Israeli ground troops from Gaza and the locations where those forces would redeploy. The third and most disputed point reportedly involves Hamas's demand for Israel to commit to maintaining the ceasefire terms even after all Israeli hostages are released. Earlier, US President Donald Trump claimed that Hamas 'never truly wanted a deal,' a day after American and Israeli delegations withdrew from the Doha talks on prisoner exchange and a ceasefire in Gaza. He announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should escalate military operations in Gaza. 'It got to a point where you have to finish the job. You're gonna have to get rid of Hamas… now they are going to be hunted down.' However, Egypt and Qatar clarified in a joint statement that the pause in negotiations was merely to allow for consultations before resuming dialogue, calling it a normal step in a complex negotiation process between Hamas and Israel. #MOFAQatar — Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) July 25, 2025 Hamas official, Izzat al-Risheq, rejected the US claims, saying they contradict the assessments of the mediators and do not reflect the actual progress being made in the talks.

UNAMI chief hopes Erbil-Baghdad financial deal holds
UNAMI chief hopes Erbil-Baghdad financial deal holds

Rudaw Net

time4 hours ago

  • Rudaw Net

UNAMI chief hopes Erbil-Baghdad financial deal holds

Also in Iraq MPs slam Baghdad for banning Kurdish in disputed areas Ali al-Gharbi: One of world's hottest places Iraq dismantles extremist group financing network Iraqi man remarries at age 92 A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mohamed al-Hassan, head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), said on Saturday he hopes the new agreement between Erbil and Baghdad will be a final settlement of long-running disputes over finances and oil. "God willing, it will be an agreement that ends all disputes and we won't return to this topic because it affects the rights of ordinary people in Iraq. I have a firm conviction that with the wisdom of Iraq's leaders, whether in Baghdad or Erbil or elsewhere, we hope for all the best," Hassan told Rudaw's Ziyad Ismail. Earlier this month, the federal and regional governments reached a new deal over finances and oil. Several similar deals have failed in the past. The Iraqi government approved the agreement during a cabinet meeting and subsequently resumed the disbursement of the salaries of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) civil servants. Tensions between Baghdad and Erbil escalated in late May when the federal finance ministry suspended transfers of funds, saying the KRG had exceeded its 12.67 percent share of the federal budget and failed to deliver oil to Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). The freeze affected more than 1.2 million public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region. Iraq will hold parliamentary elections in November. The UNAMI chief said they have "a fundamental and active role in these elections. We call on Iraqis to be honest and trustworthy in their electoral decision." UNAMI's mission in Iraq will expire at the end of the year.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store