The genocide of the Kurds by the destroyed regime of Saddam, and every day a curtain rises from the corner of this horrific crime of the genocide of the Kurds.

 

What trick did the criminal Ajaj use to find the perpetrator of Anfal and Kurdish genocide?

A witness: He made my brother eat his black dogs.All Kurds who collaborated with this criminal should be brought to justice, and if they have left the country, Interpol should issue a warrant for their arrest.

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The criminal Tikriti gang rape of Kurdish children on the day of the Anfal campaign is the same as the genocide of the Kurds.

The genocide of the Yazidis was the same thinking as Saddam and Erdogan, and it was Khomeini's thinking.

This mentally ill Islamic person, anyone who is not a Muslim, has no right to live.

The #genocide of the #Kurds by the #destroyed #regime of #Saddam, and every day a curtain rises from the corner of this horrific #crime of the #genocide of the #Documentin_ Anfal _Kurdish_Genocide

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Iraq arrests former Baathist officer accused of Anfal genocide atrocities

The Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) announced Friday the arrest of Ajaj Ahmed Hardan, widely known as “Hajaj Nugra al-Salman,” in Muthanna province. Hardan, a former security officer at the notorious Nugra Salman prison, is charged with crimes against humanity—including torture, murder, and rape—primarily targeting forcibly displaced Kurdish civilians during the genocidal Anfal campaign in the late 1980s.

“Following more than six months of precise intelligence work, the Iraqi National Security Service apprehended Ajaj Ahmed Hardan, a key criminal of the former regime,” the NSS stated.

The statement highlighted Hardan’s multiple security roles under the Baathist regime, including Security Officer for Al-Muthanna Governorate and Nugra Salman prison, where he allegedly participated in executions and the mass burial of Kurdish victims.

“To evade justice, Hardan’s relatives had falsely claimed he was deceased. However, through meticulous intelligence gathering, data analysis, and corroboration with past confessions, authorities located and arrested him in Salahuddin province.” added the INSS’s stamement.

After obtaining judicial approvals and recording victim testimonies, Hardan was handed over to investigative bodies to face trial.

The NSS reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing all individuals implicated in atrocities against innocent civilians during Iraq’s dark history.

In 1988, Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath regime carried out the Anfal genocide, deliberately targeting Kurdish communities and detaining thousands. While many young men were executed, women, children, and the elderly were confined to Nugra Salman prison in Iraq’s Muthanna province.

A Long-Hunted Executioner Is Captured; For Kurdish Anfal Survivors, a Moment of Reckoning

had long stopped believing the man he called the butcher of Nugra Salman would ever be caught. For years, he chased rumors across borders — Syria, Saudi Arabia, cancer, a stroke, maybe dead, maybe hiding. Then, on the evening of July 31, he heard the news: Ajaj had been arrested. His breath caught. After all these years, they had found him.

"I felt very good about finding Ajaj," he said, his voice measured but heavy with memory. "The arrest was the happiest thing of my life."

Ajaj Ahmad Hardan al-Tikriti — better known among survivors as Hajjaj Nugra Salman — was one of the notorious prison officers during the 1988 Anfal campaign. Accused of overseeing systematic torture, executions, and abuse in Nugra Salman prison in Iraq’s southern desert near the Saudi border, he disappeared after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime and had remained a fugitive for 22 years.

"I would love to see him and ask him: Why did you do all this cowardice? What did you get from it?" Abubakr told Peregraf. "Didn’t you know your time was coming?"

He was only 12 when the Ba’ath regime arrested his family. His father was beaten until he pretended to be dead. Abubakr was tortured. Women were tied to poles under the desert sun. "This man had no mercy," he said. "I’ve been searching for him ever since."

That search came to an end on the evening of July 31, when Iraq’s First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmad officially announced Ajaj’s arrest — the result of an eight-month effort by her office to locate one of the last known executioners of the Anfal genocide. The next day, on August 1, the Iraqi National Security Service confirmed the arrest and released photos of Ajaj in custody.

He had been hiding in Salahaddin province — living among relatives in Tikrit, Oja, and Beji, frequently changing locations and allegedly altering his appearance with cosmetic procedures to avoid recognition.

"Ajaj has done cosmetics to avoid being recognized," said Peri Nuri, a presidential advisor and the First Lady’s representative on mass graves. "He also denies the crimes he has committed."

But survivors recognized him immediately.

"The picture was him," said Abubakr, who lives in Chamchamal. "As soon as I saw it, I knew. That face never left my mind."

According to the National Security Service, Ajaj was arrested in Muthanna province, after a six-month intelligence operation involving meticulous data gathering, human source verification, and coordination with the Southern Salahaddin Security Directorate. In its August 1 statement, the agency described Ajaj as one of the most wanted former Ba’ath officials — a man who had held several security posts before becoming the officer in charge of Nugra Salman prison, where he participated in executions and mass burials during Anfal.

The arrest was prompted by formal complaints filed in court on July 28 and 29 by a small group of survivors: Fazila Mohammed (of Kalar), Rizgar Shamzin, and Ali Abubakr. They worked closely with the First Lady’s office, which had been investigating Ajaj’s whereabouts for months.

"His family spread false stories," Abubakr said. "They said he had died of cancer, others said it was a stroke. Some claimed he had gone to Syria or Saudi Arabia. But we never stopped."

Ali Darwish, a relative of several Anfal victims, confirmed that once Ajaj’s identity and residence were verified, a team of five families collaborated with the presidency. "Less than 48 hours after we filed the complaints, the security forces arrested him," Darwish said.

For survivors and legal experts, the arrest is more than the fall of a single man — it is a long-overdue crack in the wall of impunity surrounding the Anfal genocide.

"This is a critical moment," said Dr. Hunar Amin, a scholar of international criminal law and expert on genocide. "One of the most brutal anti-Kurdish enforcers is now in custody. More important than the arrest itself is what we do with it."

Dr. Amin believes the case should serve as a foundation to document the Anfal campaign at both national and international levels. "This detainee is an opportunity to revive the pursuit of justice for the victims. It can help uncover information about other perpetrators, prison conditions, and mass graves. It’s a way to restore dignity to the Kurdish families."

Between February and September of 1988, the Ba’ath regime displaced and murdered an estimated 182,000 Kurds, destroyed thousands of villages, and carried out mass executions across eight provinces. Nugra Salman, a remote desert prison in southern Iraq, became a site of horrific suffering.

Relatives of Anfal victims at the mass graves of women and children in the desert of Tel Sheikh. Photo: Jawhar Kani Hanjiri

Ajaj’s name became synonymous with that prison. Survivors say he personally oversaw beatings, starvation, psychological torture, and rape.

"Ajaj tortured me and my father," Abubakr recalled. "I thought my father was dead. But he whispered to me, ‘I made myself dead. Go.’ That moment stayed with me my whole life."

Now, with Ajaj behind bars and his identity confirmed, many survivors are calling for a broader investigation and new legal action against other known figures from the regime. The First Lady’s office has urged victims, families of the disappeared, and survivors to submit information that could support prosecution efforts.

"This arrest should not be the end — it should be the beginning," said Dr. Amin. "Kurdistan has waited decades for justice. This is the moment to act."

The Iraqi National Security Service, in its statement, vowed to continue pursuing other fugitives involved in crimes against humanity. "The hand of justice will continue to pursue all those whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents," it said. "Time will not be a refuge for those who flee from just retribution."

For Abubakr, the moment is heavy with vindication — but also grief.

"My two brothers, four cousins, and an uncle were all killed. We can’t bring them back," he said. "But maybe, just maybe, we can finally hold someone accountable."

He knows what he wants to say if he ever sees Ajaj in person: "You thought we’d forget you. We didn’t."