BAGHDAD — A controversy is brewing over the actions of Iraqi armed forces during “anti-terrorism” operations, as senior army officers have issued clear orders to kill rather than arrest those being pursued.

There are of course opposing positions on this shift in Iraq's war against terrorism. Some view it as some form of “martial law” that violates human rights, but others think it an appropriate solution for stopping the so-called death machine of suicide bombers and criminals across the country. In Baquba on Jan. 24, Diyala police killed six men whom they claimed were suicide bombers planning to storm the local government building. After they were captured, the men were tied to street lamp poles and shot. 

Gen. Abdul Amir al-Zaidi was the first Iraqi officer to issue orders to kill wanted men instead of arresting them and transferring them to stand trial. Zaidi is chief of the army's Tigris operations, whose activities cover areas north of Baghdad. On Dec. 30, 2013, he proclaimed, “I will kill any terrorist. I will not deliver him to justice. I will show him no mercy.” This outlook worries a number of Iraqi observers.

Kazem al-Mikdadi, an academic researcher at the University of Baghdad, told Al-Monitor, “The decision to kill those wanted instead of arresting them is not politically legitimate according to the constitution. … Naturally, in countries that respect human rights, a wanted person must be arrested, interrogated and handed over for justice, even if he ends up being executed. … What’s important is that it happens according to the law. … The politicians didn’t denounce the decision of the military generals. … It seems that the law of the jungle prevails.”