Massacre at Sunni Mosque in Iraq

Othman Najm Abdullah

17.

Safaa Abbas Mohsen

21.

Alaa Abbas Mohsen

19.

Aws Abdul Karim.

These are the victims of a massacre at a Sunni mosque in Diyala

province, Iraq. Witnesses say gunmen opened fire

on the Musa bin Amair mosque during midday prayers on

August the 22nd.

Thirty-four people were killed, all civilians, including one

woman and a seventeen-year-old boy.

This man, who ran to the scene of the massacre,

describes what happened.

We were at home, so when the gunfire started, because the

loudspeakers were on.

You see, I knew that my father

and all my relatives were inside

the mosque.

As soon as we reached the mosque,

we found a massacre

that defied all human values.

We found people shot in the chest, the thigh,

the arm,

the leg. Those who were shot in the head, their heads,

had lost

their lives.

Each of the witnesses could recount the massacre in vivid detail.

There was heavy gunfire, and the sound

and screaming of the worshippers was also

what I heard in that moment.

So we rushed to their aid.

We entered the mosque;

the number of dead was small,

but most were wounded, so we tried to pull the wounded out.

But then the gunmen returned.

One

of my friends shouted, "They've come back!"

so we retreated.

When we returned, we found they had executed all the rest.

There were militia leaders

wearing green headbands with "Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq" written on them.

All five witnesses we spoke to said they recognized the attackers and

knew them by name.

They were close. Yes, we saw them and recognized them, because I've lived

in the area for a long time. I know them personally.

34 lawsuits,

filed by the victims' families,

and official legal claims,

with fingerprints and signatures

of witnesses, judges, and plaintiffs,

yes, and formal statements

from the witnesses.

Witnesses told us that government authorities launched an

investigation into the

massacre, but have refused to release their

findings.

A secret investigation, they say it's a secret investigation.

And the imam was... he was...

Yes, yes, here I see the bullet holes, they shot

at him,

I mean, here they hit, the bullets hit him, and he fell

right here, this is where he collapsed.

Now the families of those killed, along with the witnesses and

survivors, live in fear.

We ask God, good people, and we ask you to

expose the truth and the crimes of the militias against us,

the minority

in Diyala. You only find me at home,

there is no one but God Almighty to protect us, no one else.

And if something happens to us,

we will be with our Lord, like those who died in the mosque, it makes no difference to us.