Decades Later: Justice Still Eludes the Victims of the Haditha Massacre

Mon Nov 17 2025 23:46:47 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A BBC Eye investigation reveals shocking new evidence implicating US marines in the killing of a family during the Iraq War, raising questions about accountability for war crimes.

Safa Younes, the sole survivor of her family’s murder in Haditha, Iraq, reflects on a 2005 shooting incident involving US marines. Two marines have been implicated in the killings but were never prosecuted, prompting discussions on justice and accountability in military operations. Despite new evidence and expert testimony, no one has faced consequences, and Safa demands accountability two decades later.

This is the room where my whole family was killed, says Safa Younes.

Bullet holes pepper the front door to the house in the Iraqi town of Haditha, where she grew up. Inside the back bedroom, a colorful bedspread covers the bed where her family was shot.

This is where she hid with her five siblings, mum, and aunt when US marines stormed into their home and opened fire, killing everyone apart from Safa, on 19 November 2005. Her dad was also shot dead when he opened the front door.

Now, 20 years on, a BBC Eye investigation has uncovered evidence that implicates two marines, who were never brought to trial, in the killing of Safa's family, according to a forensic expert.

The evidence - mainly statements and testimony given in the aftermath of the killings - raises doubts about the American investigation into what happened that day, and poses significant questions over how US armed forces are held to account.

The killing of Safa's family was part of what became known as the Haditha massacre, where US marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians, including four women and six children. They entered three homes killing nearly everyone inside, as well as a driver and four students in a car, who were on their way to college.

This incident triggered the longest US war crimes investigation of the Iraq war, but no one was convicted of the killings.

The marines claimed they were responding to gunfire after a roadside bomb killed one of their squad members, but Safa asserts, We hadn't been accused of anything. We didn't even have any weapons in the house.

Using crime scene photos and new audio recordings, forensic expert Michael Maloney reported that two marines entered the room and shot the women and children. Despite this, the prosecution has maintained that no further investigation is warranted.

As a 33-year-old mother, Safa continues to seek justice, emphasizing that for nearly 20 years, no one has been held accountable for her family's deaths. It’s as if it happened last year. I still think about it, she says. I want those who did this to be held accountable and punished by law. That's the real crime.