Atrocities Rife in Tikrit After ISIS Withdraws

Iraq's prime minister ordered the military and police to arrest any militia members who may have committed atrocities after liberating the city of Tikrit after multiple reports of looting and arson were made.

Reuters reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi issue the call to arrest any militia members accused of abuses shortly after the Iraqi Army and allied Shia militias took control of Tikrit after a monthlong operation.

Looting and other atrocities carried out by the militias threatens to derail any possibility of the Iraqi government maintaining control of areas previously under the control of the Islamic State.

The strength of the group, and the fact that many Sunnis in Iraq are maligned from the government in Baghdad means that if such atrocities continue, it is possible that Sunnis will feel as though it would be best to support ISIS, strengthening the group. The fact that before Abadi was prime minister the Iraqi government discriminated against Sunnis was a major factor that allowed ISIS to come to power.

A separate Reuters report outlines some of the militias' offenses. In one incident, policeman stabbed and cut the throat of a captive fighter who had been completely neutralized. Reuters says the victim was an ISIS fighter of Egyptian origin.

In another instance, a caravan of Shia fighters dragged the bodies of dead ISIS fighters behind their vehicles.

The rampaging militias also burned down and looted hundreds of homes and shops, only adding to the misery of a populace engulfed in war.