This was under Saddam and back in 1988; I don't know how things changed by 2003 but committing acts like this is a good reason to go after anyone.
The Kurdish massacre survivor's 'mission from God'
By Swaminathan Natarajan BBC World Service
19 September 2019
"I saw my mum getting killed in front of my eyes. I couldn't protect her. After that I saw two of my sisters getting killed."
Taimour Abdulla Ahmed is thinking back to the evening in May 1988 when, as a 12 year old, he and dozens of other children and women were forced into a desert pit and Iraqi soldiers opened fire on them.
Their crime - they were Kurds in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
"My heart died with my mother and sisters in that grave.
Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49566429
And here, we see the Kurds battling the Turks and to a small extent, Iran some. Iraq though, does have a Kurdish autonomous government. That's something.
I've read this story told elsewhere as well.
