Death sentence for Lieutenant Abu Bakr Al-Samarrai’s murderer

Shafaq News / Al-Anbar’s Criminal Court issued a death sentence against the killer of Iraqi Army Lieutenant Abu Bakr al-Samarrai.

The Supreme Judicial Council's media center stated today that "the terrorist criminal, affiliated with ISIS, murdered martyr Abu Bakr al-Samarrai in February 2017 after kidnapping him in the Al-Nukhaib area."

The sentence was based on the provisions of Article 4/1, in conjunction with Articles 2/3/5/7 of Counter-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005.

On January 25, 2018, Lieutenant Abu Bakr Abbas al-Samarrai, assigned to deliver a fuel tanker to his unit in the "Al-Mukhath" area in the desert westward near the Saudi Arabian border, was intercepted upon his return by unknown armed individuals at a fake checkpoint and abducted along with two fellow soldiers.

Approximately a month after the abduction, ISIS released a video of one of its militants beheading Lieutenant al-Samarrai, who remained resilient in the face of his captors.

ISIS omitted the lieutenant's first name and presented him using his father's name, Abbas, to insinuate that he was a Shia, as observed by activists and commentators on the incident.

The reaction following the video's release was diametrically opposed to ISIS's "strategic" goals. Social media platforms were filled with comments praising Abu Bakr's bravery, highlighting his resilience even as the militants' knife approached his neck.

In August 2019, a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) unit discovered the body of the Iraqi Army officer Abu Bakr al-Samarrai, who was brutally killed by ISIS at the end of the previous year.

A contingent from Brigade 45 of the PMF arrested the group responsible for al-Samarrai's murder in Al-Qa'im district al-Anbar governorate, west of the country. The unit found al-Samarrai's body based on the group's confessions, according to Brigade 45 of the PMF at that time.