Report: Iran-Backed Shiite Militias Went on Anti-Sunni Rampage After Freeing Key Iraqi Town

After freeing the city of the Iraqi town of Amerli, which had been under siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Iranian-backed Shiite militias rampaged through the area carrying out reprisal raids against Sunnis in the area. This was reported in a document prepared by Human Rights Watch (HRW), as reported Wednesday by Bill Roggio in The Long War Journal.

“After US air strikes and Iraqi fighters broke the siege [of Amerli], pro-government militias began to raid Sunni and mixed Sunni villages in the areas surrounding Amerli,” HRW stated in a report, titled After Liberation Came Destruction, which was released today. ..

HRW was able to confirm that at least 3,200 building were torched during the “militias’ campaign of destruction” after Amerli was liberated on Sept. 1, 2014. The militias looted and burned or bombed buildings in September and “through the months of October, November and possibly December.”

“The widespread burning of civilian homes by the militia groups in areas under their control appeared to have had no clear military objective and to represent collective punishment against residents of local Sunni villages,” HRW stated.

Although American official have portrayed the assistance of the Shiite militias as a net positive as long as their efforts “don’t result in sectarianism,” Roggio observes that “the Iranian-backed groups are already practicing ‘sectarianism.’”

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