The Islamic State has proved time and time again that it is a bastion of horror and brutality that hasn’t been rivaled in the terror it inspires in years. Between the stories of kidnapping and executions cushioned between the sieges, slave markets, and mass rapes, it would have been reasonable to think that there wasn’t much more ISIS could do to provoke horror in the eyes and minds of those opposed to it. It turns out that people are wrong; new reports from Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN) show that ISIS might be harvesting organs to help finance its cause. If this turns out to be true, it would not only be unprecedented, but would also be just one more thing the people living under ISIS control need to fear.
There are two main sources of evidence for this new story of organ harvesting to be true. The first is that of dozens of reports of Mosul doctors being executed for not following through with the orders to harvest organs. The second is the fact that there have been multiple bodies found with surgical incisions who are missing kidneys, livers, and other vital organs that are frequently sought after for a number of medical reasons and procedures. The good news is that the bodies that were missing organs were found in mass graves which means that the people are dead. However that doesn’t mean that they were dead when the organs were harvested and knowing how ISIS operates, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they very well might have been alive at the time of extraction.
The executing of doctors for refusing to take part is another sign that points to the victims being alive. While a doctor might not want to harvest from a corpse, it would be difficult to imagine doctors willing to die for that reason. Harvesting from a live victim is a much more reasonable excuse for refusal until death, especially if religious reasons are taken into account. Either way, the news is incredibly disturbing and points to how savage ISIS is and will be in regards to reaching its goals.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.