TIKRIT, IRAQ – JUNE 12, 2014 In June 2014, when ISIS took control of Tikrit, ISIS militants captured several thousand mainly Shia cadets and military recruits from the Iraqi airbase known as Camp Speicher, located near Tikrit. According to various reports, around 1,700 captives were executed over the course of several days. These young men were forcibly taken to different locations, including Saddam Hussein’s palace complex, where they were systematically executed. ISIS released videos of the executions, showing victims being shot in the head, with their bodies then thrown into the Tigris River or buried in mass graves.
This massacre had a tremendous impact on Iraqi society, especially the Shia community, and became a symbol of ISIS’s brutality. The families of the victims long demanded justice, and later, after Tikrit was liberated in 2015, mass graves containing the bodies of many of these murdered soldiers were found.
This event not only strengthened the Iraqi government’s resolve to fight ISIS but also led to the expansion of Shia militias, which played a key role in the fight against ISIS in the years that followed.
All videos and content published on this platform related to ISIS are in no way intended as a promotion of terrorism or this organization. We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism and extremist activities, including those associated with ISIS.
ISIS does not represent Islam. Islam is a religion of peace and compassion, whose values and teachings have nothing to do with the violent acts committed by this organization. Our goal is to inform and educate, not to spread hatred or support violence.
