(New York, June 21, 2006) – Yesterday’s recovery of the bodies of two U.S. soldiers in Iraq, reportedly with signs of torture, highlights the serious violations of international humanitarian law (laws of war) committed by insurgent groups in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said today.
All combatants in Iraq are subject to attack. But captured combatants must be treated humanely. Torture and other cruel treatment, as well as summarily executing a captured combatant, are war crimes.For more information on violations of the laws of war by insurgent groups in Iraq, see Human Rights Watch’s report, “A Face and a Name: Civilian Victims of Insurgent Groups in Iraq,” at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/iraq1005/.
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A Face and a Name: Civilian Victims of Insurgent Groups in Iraq
Report, October 15, 2005
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