Reports of revenge attacks, looting and lynching in the aftermath of the battle for Tikrit. Reuters

An Iraqi soldier beats an ISIS fighters. Reuters.

In the aftermath of the battle for Tikrit, Iraqi forces are taking revenge, looting and even lynching captured ISIS fighters. Reuters. Reporters from Reuters reported many revenge killings, including a suspected ISIS fighter who was stabbed to death. They also saw a dead body being dragged behind a vehicle. Dozens of buildings were set on fire while stores were looted as well. The atrocities are being committed by the mostly Shiite force, made up of the Iraqi military and Iranian backed militias. The Sunnis of Iraq feared this outcome and may lead to more Sunni Muslims joining ISIS. The Iraqi government was trying to reign in the militias but looting and arson continued. 

My Comment:

A rather graphic report from Reuters. Fair warning, there is a graphic picture of the dragging and they go into detail about the execution of the suspected ISIS fighters. 

None of this is surprising to me. I had been talking for weeks that this was the probable outcome of the battle for Tikrit if the Shiite Militias were involved. I'm not happy to be right though. The people of Tikrit, if they ever manage to return, won't have much to return too. What wasn't destroyed in the battle or taken by ISIS has been taken by these Shia militias. The only good news is that it doesn't seem like all that many civilians were harmed, largely because there weren't all that many left in the city. When the battle of Mosul happens, if it happens, that probably won't be the case.

The attacks on the suspected ISIS fighters are probably war crimes. Though the Geneva conventions probably don't apply to ISIS, general human decency does. Of course it isn't like these ISIS fighters didn't bring this onto themselves when they joined a terrorist group that is defined by its atrocities, so I won't be shedding any tears for them. 

Still, there are very good reasons for not doing the kinds of things the Shia militias and Iraqi Army are doing right now. If nothing else, there is a chance that the people being killed were never part of ISIS and are completely innocent. In the cases that Reuters examined that seems very unlikely to be the case due to the fact that they were all foreign. 

The bigger reason is that it locks you into the cycle of revenge. These attacks are based on revenge, but the problem with revenge is that if you take it someone will want to take it out on you. ISIS started the cycle, but there was no reason for the Shia militias to continue it. ISIS fighters will be more motivated to fight now and are a lot less likely to surrender.

Finally, this will likely push the Sunni Muslims in the region even further into the arms of ISIS. ISIS may be brutal but if the choice is letting them stay or lose your homes and families to the Shia Muslims, it makes sense that people would support ISIS. When the choices are limited to rebellion and death, most people will choose rebellion...

Still, the Middle East has been locked in the cycle of revenge for hundreds of years. This is just the latest incident in a long line of revenge. It isn't unexpected at all and I expect it to continue in the future. Once again, when the battle for Mosul finally happens expect a bloodbath unseen in the Iraq War to date....