UNITAD report reveals scale of ISIS crimes against religious minorities in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Following extensive investigations, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) released a comprehensive report detailing the severe destruction caused by the Islamic State (ISIS) during its occupation of parts of Iraq from June 2014 until its defeat in August 2017.

According to the report, ISIS systematically targeted cultural, religious, and historical sites across Iraq, claiming they were contrary to Islamic teachings. The UNITAD team revealed significant damage to dozens of mosques, Yezidi temples, and other cultural landmarks.

The report also highlighted the extensive violations and attacks on churches, monasteries, and cemeteries belonging to the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian communities, including the destruction of important historical monuments in northern Iraq.

UNITAD emphasized that these systematic attacks were part of ISIS’s strategy to eradicate various ethnic and religious minorities, along with their heritage and culture.

In conclusion, the report classified ISIS’s actions as war crimes and crimes against humanity, stressing that the destruction of these cultural and religious sites represents not only a loss for Iraq but for all of humanity, given the significance of these sites as testaments to ancient civilizations.