Methodology

Researchers separately interviewed more than 30 people who said they witnessed the destruction. In most cases researchers conducted interviews in Arabic, Kurdish or Turkmen with Arabic or Kurdish to English, or Turkmen to Arabic translation. Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with witnesses and victims displaced to areas that remained insecure. We informed all persons interviewed of the purpose of the interview, its voluntary nature, and the ways in which the data would be collected and used, and obtained consent by all interviewees, who understood they would receive no compensation for their participation in interviews. Due to the risk of reprisals, Human Rights Watch has withheld the names and identifying information of victims and witnesses interviewed.

Human Rights Watch interviewed Kurdish security personnel, commanders and fighters, who were involved in the ground offensive during the Amerli operation in September, and in security operations around Amerli in October 2014. Researchers also reviewed videos and photos taken during military operations in September 2014 by witnesses and journalists, as well as photos residents took to document the destruction of their homes and villages in the weeks after the military operations.

In addition to field research, Human Rights Watch conducted a detailed damage assessment of 35 towns and villages in the Amerli region using six very-high resolution commercial satellite images recorded between September 14 and December 22, 2014.[1] Satellite imagery covering an area approximately 500 square kilometers surrounding the town of Amerli was used to identify areas of destruction, quantify damage, evaluate witness evidence, and assess the scale, distribution, and timing of building destruction. Further, satellite imagery was used to determine the probable methods of building destruction and to control for damages from air strikes, and heavy artillery and mortar fire that occurred before September 1 during the ISIS siege of Amerli.

Human Rights Watch reviewed videos posted to YouTube related to the siege of Amerli, including US and Iraqi air strike footage, and footage recorded by Iraqi forces and journalists on the ground. To help verify the time, location, and circumstances of the videos, Human Rights Watch matched visible landmarks in the videos with satellite imagery, and contacted and interviewed the people who filmed the videos whenever possible.

Human Rights Watch presented its findings to the Iraqi government on February 25, 2015, requesting a response by March 10.