ISIS Torture In Iraq: Islamic State Chopped Off Hands In Mosul, Victim Recalls

A young man who was freed by Islamic State rule by the Iraqi army recently recalled the jihadist group’s torture tactics, including an incident during which ISIS fighters chopped off his and his brother’s hands. Twenty-one-year-old Azad Hassan still has video footage of Islamic State militant sawing off their hands after being accused of stealing flour, Reuters reported Thursday.

Hassan and his brother stood before an Islamic State court in Mosul more than a year ago over the claim. He and his brother were selling flour to a baker who was loyal to the Islamic State, he explained. When the baker refused to pay for the flour, Hassan said he and his brother broke into the bakery to take back their flour. Afterward, the baker confronted Islamic State members regarding the robbery and Hassan and his brother was detained. Initially, Hassan said an Iraqi judge, referred to as the “Blood Judge,” sentenced the young men to be beheaded and crucified. Later, however, a separate judge overruled and changed the sentence to hand amputation.

"As long as I live I won't forget that moment they cut off my brother's hand," Hassan said. "Then they tied down my hand. They had to hit it twice to cut it off. I wanted the ground to open up."

Hassan, who lost another brother to the Islamic State, told Reuters he was hoping to use the video footage against the self-declared caliphate one day.

Amputation is just one of the many instances of the Islamic State’s brutality. An Atlantic Council report detailed various methods of torture Islamic State members performed on their prisoners.

“The ISIS prison wardens would speak continuously of the coming retribution. ISIS men would enter, place knives on our necks and threaten to kill us. An ISIS member would occasionally enter carrying a prisoner’s amputated head, promising the others a similar fate,” a man only referred to as Ahmed told the Atlantic Council back in June.

Lashings and electric shocks are also reportedly common ISIS torture practices. Prisoners have also recalled militants using the “flying carpet,” a metal board with hinges in the middle that Islamic State members would tie captives to. They’ve also been known to use an iron “biter,” a metal jaw-like instrument the group used to beat women who failed to abide by the ISIS dress code.