Association holds ISIS leader responsible for Shaitat massacre in Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – The Shaitat Victims’ Families Association held on Friday Diaa al-Hardani, a senior leader in the Islamic State (ISIS), directly responsible for the massacres committed in Shaitat villages in Deir ez-Zor eastern countryside, eastern Syria, in 2014.
Al-Hardani was killed on Friday along with his two sons in a targeted operation by U.S. Central Command in the city of al-Bab, east of Aleppo.
In August 2014, ISIS carried out a mass killing in the town of Gharanij, resulting in the deaths of around 850 members of the Shaitat tribe. The massacre lasted three days and was followed by a campaign of persecution. In the summer of 2015, ISIS issued a death sentence against all male tribe members over the age of 14.
In a statement, the association said that Diaa al-Hardani, also known by his codename Abu Fatima al-Hardan and of Iraqi nationality, was one of ISIS’s top security figures, directly overseeing mass executions and forced arrests in the towns of Gharanij, al-Kishkiyah, and Abu Hamam.”
The organization stressed that al-Hardani’s death does not negate the need for full international justice.
It also called for continued efforts to document crimes, collect evidence, and protect witnesses to ensure that all perpetrators of the Shaitat massacre are held accountable through transparent and independent judicial processes.