Iraq's PMF arrests suspect in 2014 Camp Speicher massacre

A Shia paramilitary force in Iraq has arrested a man suspected of involvement in the 2014 Camp Speicher massacre which saw over a thousand Iraqi cadets killed at the hands of the Islamic State group.

Durgham Abu Haidar was arrested by the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), local media reported, and reportedly confessed to killing at least 600 people.

Evidence found on his phone confirmed his involvement in the killings, reports said, adding that Abu Haidar also revealed that there were still undiscovered mass graves.

No further information was given.

هذا الأعور الدجال يدعى ضرغام ابو حيدر والذي ألقى أمن #الحشد_الشعبي القبض عليه واعترف بقتل 600 من شهداء مجزرة سبايكر وعثر في هاتفه الخاص فيديوهات تثبت تورطه واعترف بمقابر جماعية للمجزرة لم تكتشف إلى هذه اللحظة في #العراق
لا أعرف لماذا تذكرت ابن ملجم عند مشاهدة وجهه الودِر؟ pic.twitter.com/i9dP4AgO6k

— فيصل الدويسان (@faldowaisan) July 1, 2022

The massacre took place on 12 June 2014 when IS attacked the Camp Speicher military base in Tikrit, the capital of the north-central Iraqi province of Salah Al-Din. Hundreds of unarmed military cadets, many of whom were trying to flee the area, were captured by the militants.

Video footage released later by IS showed militants killing the cadets, many of whom were tied up, before dumping their bodies in the Tigris River or in mass graves.

An estimated 1,700 military and security personnel were killed.

Although defeated, IS continues to wage a low-level insurgency in Iraq and Syria.