Editing Death squad (section)

=== Asia ===
==== Afghanistan ====

[[Human Rights Watch]] asserted in a 2019 report that the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] was backing death squads in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]].<ref name="HRWV">{{Cite web|title=CIA-Backed 'Death Squads' Are Committing War Crimes in Afghanistan, Report Says|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/cia-backed-death-squads-are-committing-war-crimes-in-afghanistan-report-says/|access-date=2021-08-23|website=Vice.com|date=31 October 2019 |language=en|archive-date=18 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318170938/https://www.vice.com/en/article/a358a5/cia-backed-death-squads-are-committing-war-crimes-in-afghanistan-report-says|url-status=live}}</ref> The report alleges that the CIA-supported [[History of the Afghan Armed Forces (2002–2021)|Afghan Armed Forces]] committed "[[summary execution]]s and other grave abuses without accountability" over the course of more than a dozen night raids that took place between 2017 and 2019. The death squads allegedly committed "extrajudicial killings of civilians, [[forced disappearance]]s of detainees, and attacks on healthcare facilities that treat insurgents," according to [[Vice (magazine)|''Vice'']]'s reporting on the contents of the Human Rights Watch report.<ref name="HRWV" /> According to the same article, "The forces are recruited, equipped, trained, and deployed under the auspices of the CIA to target insurgents from the [[Taliban]], [[Al-Qaeda|Al Qaeda]], and [[Islamic State|ISIS]]." The article also states these Afghan forces have the ability to call in [[United States Air Force]] airstrikes, which have resulted in the deaths of civilians, including children, and have occurred in civilian areas, including at weddings, parks, and schools.

==== Bangladesh ====
{{See also|Rapid Action Battalion}}

In contemporary times, the Bangladeshi "Rapid Action Battalion" has been criticized by rights groups for its use of [[extrajudicial killings]].<ref>*{{cite web|title=Bangladesh: End Unlawful Violence Against Protesters|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/03/bangladesh-end-unlawful-violence-against-protesters|website=[[Human Rights Watch]]|access-date=2 April 2017|date=2013-05-03|archive-date=2 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402173130/https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/03/bangladesh-end-unlawful-violence-against-protesters|url-status=live}}
*{{cite news |title=WikiLeaks: U.K. trained Bangladeshi 'death squad' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40773855 |work=NBC News |date=21 December 2010 |access-date=14 November 2019 |archive-date=14 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014042206/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40773855 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, there have been many reports of torture in connection with the battalion's activities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Death of Youth in Rab Action |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/05/21/d7052101107.htm |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=21 May 2007 |access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112123912/https://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/05/21/d7052101107.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unpo.org/article.php?id=1984 |title=Rapid Action Battalion won't be used for political purpose |date=18 February 2005 |website=Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation |access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112123920/https://www.unpo.org/article.php?id=1984 |url-status=live }}</ref> Several battalion members have been accused of murder and obstruction of justice during the [[Narayanganj Seven murder]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/136079/Nur-Hossain-Tarek-among-26-get-death-penalty|title=Ex-AL men, Ex-RAB officials among 26 handed death penalty|newspaper=Prothom Alo|access-date=2017-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119051853/http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/136079/Nur-Hossain-Tarek-among-26-get-death-penalty|archive-date=19 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/country/security-beefed-ahead-nganj-7-murder-verdict-1346107|title=7-murder: Nur Hossain, Rab commander Tareque, 24 others get death|date=2017-01-16|newspaper=The Daily Star|language=en|access-date=2017-01-21|archive-date=19 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119135822/http://www.thedailystar.net/country/security-beefed-ahead-nganj-7-murder-verdict-1346107|url-status=live}}</ref> They've been known to kill civilian suspects for the explicit purpose of avoiding trials.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Janzon|first1=Beatrice|title=Exclusive: Officer Exposes Brutal Killings by Bangladeshi Elite Police Unit RAB|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6665807|access-date=27 November 2017|work=Swedish Radio|date=4 April 2017|archive-date=30 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130104313/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6665807|url-status=live}}</ref> They have also been accused of carrying out a campaign of [[Forced disappearance in Bangladesh|forced disappearances]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Muktadir Rashid |date=30 August 2014 |title=The List grows Longer |url=http://newagebd.net/43141/the-list-grows-longer/ |newspaper=New Age |location=Dhaka |access-date=31 August 2014 |archive-date=14 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114102401/http://newagebd.net/43141/the-list-grows-longer/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Cambodia ====
{{Main|Khmer Rouge}}
The [[Khmer Rouge]] began employing death squads to purge Cambodia of non-communists after taking over the country in 1975. They rounded up their victims, questioned them and then took them out to killing fields.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chandler, David|title=The Killing Fields|publisher=The Digital Archive Of Cambodian Holocaust Survivors|url=http://www.cybercambodia.com/dachs/killing/killingfields.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220044952/http://cybercambodia.com/dachs/killing/killingfields.html|archive-date=20 February 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==== India ====
{{Main|Secret killings of Assam}}
The secret killings of Assam (1998–2001) was probably the darkest chapter in Assam's political history when relatives, friends, sympathisers of [[United Liberation Front of Asom]] insurgents were systematically killed by unknown assailants. These extrajudicial murders happened in Assam between 1998 and 2001. These extrajudicial killings were conducted by the [[Government of Assam]] using [[SULFA]] members and the security forces in the name of counter-insurgency operations. The victims of these killings were relatives, friends and colleagues of ULFA militants. The most apparent justification for the whole exercise was that it was a tit-for-tat response to the ULFA-sponsored terrorism, especially the killings of their old comrades—the SULFAs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/19991108-spate-of-clandestine-killings-in-assam-strengthens-public-fears-781612-1999-11-08|title=Spate of clandestine killings in Assam strengthens public fears that the state has adopted new strategy to terrorise suspected ULFA sympathisers|date=8 November 1999|work=India Today|access-date=31 August 2018|archive-date=31 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831174945/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/19991108-spate-of-clandestine-killings-in-assam-strengthens-public-fears-781612-1999-11-08|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catchnews.com/india-news/secret-killings-in-assam-400-people-murdered-but-no-one-killed-them-1448896038.html|title=Secret killings in Assam: 400 people murdered. But no one killed them|website=catchnews|access-date=28 July 2018|archive-date=29 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729012929/http://www.catchnews.com/india-news/secret-killings-in-assam-400-people-murdered-but-no-one-killed-them-1448896038.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/publication/faultlines/volume9/article1.htm|title=SULFA - Terror By Another Name|website=South Asia Terrorism Portal|access-date=30 July 2018|archive-date=3 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103133215/https://www.satp.org/satporgtp/publication/faultlines/volume9/Article1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://himalmag.com/secret-killings-of-assam-in-literature/|title=The 'secret killings' of Assam in literature|date=1 November 2013|work=Himal SouthAsian|access-date=31 August 2018|archive-date=31 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831174834/http://himalmag.com/secret-killings-of-assam-in-literature/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Secret+Killings+Assam%22"|title=Justice K.N. Saikia Commission Report on Secret Killings of Assam|date=12 March 2016|website=Internet Archive}}</ref>

==== Indonesia ====
{{Main|Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966|Petrus killings}}
During the [[transition to the New Order]] in 1965–1966, with the backing of the United States government and its Western allies, the [[Indonesian National Armed Forces]] and right-wing paramilitary death squads massacred hundreds of thousands of leftists and those believed tied to the [[Communist Party of Indonesia]] (PKI) after a failed coup attempt which was blamed on the Communists.<ref>{{cite news|last=Perry|first=Juliet|title=Tribunal finds Indonesia guilty of 1965 genocide; US, UK complicit|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/asia/indonesia-genocide-panel/index.html|work=CNN|date=21 July 2016|access-date=20 August 2017|archive-date=8 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608134956/https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/asia/indonesia-genocide-panel/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Geoffrey B. |date=2018 |title=The Killing Season: A History of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965–66 |url=https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11135.html |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |pages=206–207 |isbn=978-1-4008-8886-3 |access-date=17 May 2021 |archive-date=19 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419011656/https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11135.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bevins |first1=Vincent|author-link=Vincent Bevins |title=[[The Jakarta Method|The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World]]|date=2020 |publisher= [[PublicAffairs]]|page=157|isbn= 978-1541742406}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Prashad |first=Vijay |author-link=Vijay Prashad |date=2020 |title=Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations |publisher=[[Monthly Review|Monthly Review Press]]|pages=85–86 |isbn=978-1583679067}}</ref> At least 400,000 to 500,000 people, perhaps as many as 3&nbsp;million, were killed over a period of several months, with thousands more being interred in prisons and concentration camps under extremely inhumane conditions.<ref>Mark Aarons (2007). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=dg0hWswKgTIC&pg=PA69 Justice Betrayed: Post-1945 Responses to Genocide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105010004/https://books.google.com/books?id=dg0hWswKgTIC&pg=PA69#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=5 January 2024 }}." In David A. Blumenthal and Timothy L. H. McCormack (eds). ''[http://www.brill.com/legacy-nuremberg-civilising-influence-or-institutionalised-vengeance The Legacy of Nuremberg: Civilising Influence or Institutionalised Vengeance? (International Humanitarian Law).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105053952/http://www.brill.com/legacy-nuremberg-civilising-influence-or-institutionalised-vengeance |date=5 January 2016 }}'' [[Martinus Nijhoff Publishers]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dg0hWswKgTIC&pg=PA80 pp. 80–81] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105010011/https://books.google.com/books?id=dg0hWswKgTIC&pg=PA80#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=5 January 2024 }} {{ISBN|9004156917}}</ref> The violence culminated in the fall of the [[Guided Democracy in Indonesia|"guided democracy" regime]] under President [[Sukarno]] and the commencement of [[Suharto]]'s [[New Order (Indonesia)|thirty-year authoritarian reign]].<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2012/12/2012121874846805636.html Indonesia's killing fields] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214005113/http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2012/12/2012121874846805636.html |date=14 February 2015 }}. ''[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]'', 21 December 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2 June 2016 |title=Looking into the massacres of Indonesia's past |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36431837 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=20 August 2017 |archive-date=14 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814070158/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36431837 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Iran ====
{{Main|Extrajudicial killings in Iran}}
{{Further|Chain Murders of Iran}}
After the [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]] overthrew the Shah, [[Amnesty International]] continued to complain of [[Human rights in Iran|human rights abuses in Iran]].<ref>Abrahamian, Ervand, ''Tortured Confessions'',  (1999)</ref> Suspected foes of the [[Ayatollah Khomeini]], were imprisoned, tortured, tried by [[kangaroo court]]s, and executed. The most famous victim of the era's death squad violence remains [[Amir-Abbas Hoveida]], a Prime Minister of Iran under the Shah. However, the same treatment was also meted out to senior officers in the Iranian military. Other cases exist of Iranian dissidents opposed to the Islamic Republic who have been tracked down and murdered abroad. One of the most notorious examples of this remains the 1992 [[Mykonos restaurant assassinations]] in [[Berlin, Germany]].

The Iranian government's victims include civilians who have been killed by "death squads" that operate under the control of government agents but these killing operations have been denied by the Iranian government. This was particularly the case during the 1990s when more than 80 writers, translators, poets, political activists, and ordinary citizens who had been critical of the government in some way, [[Chain Murders of Iran|disappeared or were found murdered]].<ref>Elaine Sciolino, Persian Mirrors: the Elusive Face of Iran, Free Press, 2000, p.241</ref> In 1983 the American [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) gave one of the leaders of Iran [[Khomeini]] information on Communist [[KGB]] agents in Iran. This information was almost certainly used. Later, The Iranian regime occasionally used death squads throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. However, by the 2000s, it seems to have almost if not entirely ceased its operations. This partial [[Westernization]] of the country can be seen as paralleling similar events in [[Lebanon]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], and [[Iraqi Kurdistan|Northern Iraq]] beginning in the late 1990s.

==== Iraq ====
{{Main|Extrajudicial killings in Iraq|Iraqi conflict (2003–present)}}
Iraq was formed by the [[British Empire]] from three provinces of the [[Ottoman Empire]] following the [[Partition of the Ottoman Empire|empire's breakup]] after [[World War I]]. Its population is overwhelmingly [[Islam in Iraq|Muslim]] but is divided into [[Shia Islam|Shiites]] and [[Sunni Islam|Sunnis]], with a [[Kurds in Iraq|Kurdish minority]] in the north. The new state leadership in the capital of [[Baghdad]] was formerly composed of, for the most part, the old [[Sunni]] [[Arab]] elite.

After [[Saddam Hussein]] was overthrown by the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|US-led invasion of Iraq]] in 2003, the secular socialist [[Baathist]] leadership were replaced with a provisional and later constitutional government that included leadership roles for the Shia and Kurds. This paralleled the development of ethnic militias by the Shia, Sunni, and the Kurdish [[Peshmerga]].

During the course of the [[Iraq War]] the country has increasingly become divided into three zones: a [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] ethnic zone to the north, a Sunni center and the [[Shia]] ethnic zone to the south.

While all three groups have operated death squads,<ref name="cnn.com">{{Cite news |title=U.S. cracks down on Iraq death squads |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/24/iraq.main/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=24 July 2006 |access-date=20 December 2006 |archive-date=6 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106182907/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/24/iraq.main/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
in the national capital of [[Baghdad]] some members of the now Shia [[Iraqi Police]] and [[Iraqi Army]] formed unofficial, unsanctioned, but long tolerated death squads.<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,,1869439,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=US patrols to weed out militias posing as Iraqi police | first=Peter | last=Beaumont | date=11 September 2006 | access-date=1 May 2010 | archive-date=5 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105010015/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/11/iraq.peterbeaumont | url-status=live }}</ref> They possibly have links to the [[Ministry of Interior (Iraq)|Interior Ministry]] and are popularly known as the 'black crows'. These groups operated either by night or by day. They usually arrested people, then either tortured or killed them.<ref name="Iraq's Death Squads">{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120300881.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Iraq's Death Squads | date=4 December 2005 | access-date=1 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=ALLBRITTON |first=CHRISTOPHER |date=2006-03-20 |title= Why Iraq's Police Are a Menace|language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1175055,00.html |access-date=2023-12-29 |issn=0040-781X |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927112734/https://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1175055,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Solomon |date=2005-11-29 |title=Killings Linked to Shiite Squads in Iraqi Police Force |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-29-fg-death29-story.html |access-date=2023-12-29 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229185513/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-29-fg-death29-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The victims of these attacks were predominantly young males who had probably been suspected of being members of the [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)|Sunni insurgency]]. Agitators such as Abdul Razaq al-Na'as, Dr. Abdullateef al-Mayah, and Dr. Wissam Al-Hashimi have also been killed. Women and children have also been arrested or killed.<ref name="'25,000 civilians' killed in Iraq">{{Cite news |title='25,000 civilians' killed in Iraq |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4692589.stm |publisher=BBC |date=19 July 2005 |access-date=20 December 2006 |archive-date=31 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831072954/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4692589.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of these killings have also been simple robberies or other criminal activities.

A feature in a May 2005 issue of the magazine of ''[[The New York Times]]'' accused the U.S. military of modelling the "Wolf Brigade", the Iraqi interior ministry police commandos, on the death squads that were used in the 1980s to crush the [[Marxist]] insurgency in El Salvador.<ref name=Nytimes050501>{{cite news |title=The Way of the Commandos |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/magazine/01ARMY.html |work=The New York Times |date=1 May 2005 |first=Peter |last=Maass |access-date=1 May 2010 |archive-date=18 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418193442/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/magazine/01ARMY.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2004, the US dispatched [[James Steele (US Colonel)|James Steele]] as an envoy and special training adviser to the Iraqi [[Special Police Commandos]] who were later accused of torture and death squad activities. Steele had served in El Salvador in the 1980s, where he helped train government units involved in human rights violations death squads in their war against the [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front|FMLNF]].<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news |title=From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington |newspaper=The Guardian |date=6 March 2013 |location=London |first1=Mona |last1=Mahmood |first2=Maggie |last2=O'Kane |first3=Chavala |last3=Madlena |first4=Teresa |last4=Smith |first5=Ben |last5=Ferguson |first6=Patrick |last6=Farrelly |first7=Guy |last7=Grandjean |first8=Josh |last8=Strauss |first9=Irene |last9=Baque |display-authors=8 |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=7 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207204447/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Lebanon ====
Death squads were active during the [[Lebanese Civil War]] from 1975 to 1990. The number of people who disappeared during the conflict is put around 17,000. Groups like [[Hezbollah]] have used death squads and elite wings to terrorize opponents, the most known of them is [[Unit 121]], that was led by [[Salim Ayyash]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-15 |title=Lists Of Opponents .. Will The Assassination Unit "121" Of The "Hezbollah" Militia Move? - MENA Research Center |url=https://www.mena-researchcenter.org/lists-of-opponents-will-the-assassination-unit-121-of-the-hezbollah-militia-move/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schenker |first=David |date=2024-11-26 |title=Lebanon Is a Global Sanctuary for Criminals |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/02/lebanon-crime-hezbollah-salameh-port-explosion-corruption/#cookie_message_anchor |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Levitt |first=Matthew |date=2023 |title=Episode 8: Hezbollah Assassinations Unit 121 |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/6965}}</ref>

==== Philippines ====
[[File:Rodrigo Duterte warns government officials engaged in corrupt practices in a news conference 30 September 2016.jpg|thumb|President [[Rodrigo Duterte]]]]{{Main|Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines}}
There are certain vigilante death squads that are active in the Philippines, especially in [[Davao City]] where [[Davao Death Squad|local death squads]] roam around the city to hunt criminals.

After winning the Presidency in June 2016, [[Rodrigo Duterte]] had urged, "If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful."<ref>{{cite news|title=Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urged people to kill drug addicts|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-urges-people-to-kill-drug-addicts|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=1 July 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=23 April 2017|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140423/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-urges-people-to-kill-drug-addicts|url-status=live}}</ref> By March 2017, the death toll for the [[Philippine Drug War]] passed 8,000 people.<ref>{{cite news |title=Between Duterte and a death squad, a Philippine mayor fights drug-war violence |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-drugs-mayor-idUSKBN16N33I |work=Reuters |date=16 March 2017 |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316234452/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-drugs-mayor-idUSKBN16N33I |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cev9g1ez2d2o|title=Philippines' Duterte admits to drug war 'death squad'|date=29 October 2024 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

==== Saudi Arabia ====
{{See also|Killing of Jamal Khashoggi|Tiger Squad}}

==== South Korea ====
{{Main|Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in South Korea}}
News reports on the use of death squads in Korea originated around the middle of the 20th century such as the [[Jeju Massacre]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brianwillson.com/awoltruthkor.html |title=Unknown Truth about Korea |publisher=Brianwillson.com |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-date=1 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301174118/http://www.brianwillson.com/awoltruthkor.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Daejeon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/t-z/titfortat4.html |title=Channel 4 – History – Tit for tat |publisher=Channel 4 |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-date=8 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208231955/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/t-z/titfortat4.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There were also the multiple deaths that made the news in 1980 in [[Gwangju]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lingering legacy of Korean massacre |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4557315.stm |publisher=BBC |date=18 May 2005 |first=Becky |last=Branford |access-date=20 December 2006 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117101726/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4557315.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Thailand ====
During the [[Cold War]], in the short period of democracy in Thailand after the [[1973 Thai popular uprising]] (1973–1976), three right-wing paramilitary groups, [[Nawaphon]], [[Red Gaurs]], and [[Village Scouts]] were founded and supported by [[Internal Security Operations Command]] and [[Border Patrol Police]] to promote national unity, loyalty to [[Thai royal family]], and [[anti-communism]]. They were also heavily funded and backed by the [[United States]] government and were under the patronage of the royal family themselves. Among their ranks were former soldiers, veterans of the [[Vietnam War]], former mercenaries in Laos, and violent vocational students.

These groups were first employed to counter protests of the pro-democracy and left-wing students movement, attacking them with firearms and grenades. When the ideological conflict escalated, they started assassinating labor and peasants union officials and progressive politicians, the most famous was Dr. [[Boonsanong Punyodyana]], the general secretary of the [[Socialist Party of Thailand]]. The conflict reached its peak with the [[Thammasat University massacre]] in 1976, which the [[Royal Thai Armed Forces]] and [[Royal Thai Police]], supported by the three aforementioned paramilitary groups, stormed [[Thammasat University]] and [[6 October 1976 massacre|shot mostly unarmed student protesters indiscriminately]], resulting in at least 46 deaths. A military coup was staged later in the same day. During the military rule, the paramilitary groups' popularity diminished.

In contemporary Thailand, many [[Human rights in Thailand#Deaths relating to the 2003 war on drugs|extrajudicial killings occurred during the 2003 anti-drug effort]] of Thailand's prime minister [[Thaksin Shinawatra]] were attributed to government-sponsored death squads. Rumors still persist that there is collusion between the government, rogue military officers and radical right wing/anti-drugs death squads, with both Muslim<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/thai/articles/20070214.aspx |title=Thailand: Death Squads and Roadside Bombs |publisher=Strategypage.com |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-date=21 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121105940/http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/thai/articles/20070214.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Buddhist]]{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} sectarian death squads still operating in the South of the country.

==== Turkey ====
{{Main|List of massacres in Turkey|Political violence in Turkey (1976–80)|Extrajudicial executions in Turkey}}

The [[Grey Wolves (organization)|Grey Wolves]] was established by Colonel [[Alparslan Türkeş]] in the 1960s, it was the main [[Turkish nationalism|Turkish nationalist]] force during the [[Political violence in Turkey (1976–80)|political violence in 1976–80]] in Turkey. During this period, the organization became a "death squad"<ref name="Sloan&Anderson">{{cite book|last1=Sloan|first1=Stephen|last2=Anderson|first2=Sean K.|title=Historical Dictionary of Terrorism|date=2009|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=9780810863118|contribution=Gray Wolves|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aVcG7EkuPgAC&pg=PA214 213–4]}}</ref> engaged in "[[Urban guerrilla warfare|street killings and gunbattles]]".<ref name="Combs">{{cite book|last=Combs|first=Cindy C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7fT0BQxwDsC&pg=PA110|title=Encyclopedia of terrorism|year=2007|publisher=Facts On File|location=New York|isbn=9781438110196|author2=Slann, Martin|page=110|quote=The Grey Wolves, the unofficial militant arm of the MHP, has been involved in street killings and gun battles.|access-date=7 September 2015|archive-date=5 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105010040/https://books.google.com/books?id=H7fT0BQxwDsC&pg=PA110#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> According to authorities, 220 of its members carried out 694<ref name="Sloan&Anderson" /><ref name="Ganser">{{cite book|last1=Ganser|first1=Daniele|author-link1=Daniele Ganser|title=NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135767853|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=n0uRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA240 240]}}</ref> murders of left-wing and liberal activists and intellectuals.<ref name="Idiz">{{cite news|last=Idiz|first=Semih|title=Turkey's Ultra-Nationalists Playing With Fire|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/turkey-ultra-nationalists-rally-grey-wolves-mhp.html|agency=[[Al-Monitor]]|date=29 March 2013|access-date=30 July 2015|archive-date=28 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228121729/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/turkey-ultra-nationalists-rally-grey-wolves-mhp.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Attacks on university students were commonplace. They killed hundreds of [[Alevis]] in the [[Maraş massacre]] of 1978<ref name="Marcus">{{cite book|last=Marcus|first=Aliza|title=Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence|date=2007|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=9780814796115|page=50|quote=...attacks on minority Alawite communities by the Grey Wolves, including the Kahramanmaras massacre in 1978...}}</ref><ref name="Cengiz">{{cite news|author=Orhan Kemal Cengiz |title=Why was the commemoration for the Maraş massacre banned? |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-kemal-cengiz/why-was-the-commemoration-for-the-maras-massacre-banned_302207.html |work=[[Today's Zaman]] |date=25 December 2012 |quote=This was the beginning of the massacre; later on, angry mobs led by grey wolves scattered into the city, killing and raping hundreds of Alevis. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007145955/http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-kemal-cengiz/why-was-the-commemoration-for-the-maras-massacre-banned_302207.html |archive-date=7 October 2015 |df=dmy |author-link=Orhan Kemal Cengiz }}</ref> and are alleged to have been behind the [[Taksim Square massacre]] of 1977.<ref name="Sullivan">{{cite book|last1=Sullivan|first1=Colleen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_jh4VBi_HYC&pg=PA236|editor1-last=Martin|editor1-first=Gus|editor1-link=C. Augustus Martin|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism|date=2011|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|pages=236–7|edition=2nd|isbn=9781412980166|access-date=7 September 2015|archive-date=5 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105010033/https://books.google.com/books?id=I_jh4VBi_HYC&pg=PA236#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="socialistworld">{{cite news|author1=CWI reporters in Istanbul|title=Hundreds of thousands on Taksim Square on Mayday|url=http://www.socialistworld.net/mob/doc/4252|publisher=[[Committee for a Workers' International (1974)|Committee for a Workers' International]]|date=2 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022012706/http://www.socialistworld.net/mob/doc/4252|archive-date=22 October 2014|quote=In 1977, at the peak of a revolutionary movement in Turkey, half a million gathered there. Immediately after the demonstration began, snipers – from the fascist Grey Wolves, or from the police (this is still not clear today) – began shooting at the masses.}}</ref> The masterminds behind the [[Pope John Paul II assassination attempt|attempt]] on [[Pope John Paul II]]'s life in 1981 by Grey Wolves member [[Mehmet Ali Ağca]] were not identified and the organization's role remains unclear.{{efn-ua|"Mohamed Ali Agca of Turkey, the man who shot at Pope John Paul II in Rome had no political motive. The investigating agency in Italy tried to establish his link with the Turkey based terrorist group, 'Grey Wolf,' however, could not get any evidence of his political connection."<ref name="Prabha">{{cite web|last1=Prabha|first1=Kshitij|title=Defining Terrorism|url=http://www.idsa-india.org/an-apr-08.html|publisher=[[Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses]]|location=New Delhi, India|date=April 2008|quote=Mohamed Ali Agca of Turkey, the man who shot at Pope John Paul II in Rome had no political motive. The investigating agency in Italy tried to establish his link with the Turkey based terrorist group, 'Grey Wolf,' however, could not get any evidence of his political connection.|access-date=30 July 2015|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025060347/http://www.idsa-india.org/an-apr-08.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref>}}

==== Ottoman Empire ====
During the [[Armenian genocide]], the [[Special Organization (Ottoman Empire)|Special Organization]] functioned as a death squad.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Extermination of Ottoman Armenians by the Young Turk Regime (1915-1916) {{!}} Sciences Po Mass Violence and Resistance - Research Network |journal=Extermination-ottoman-armenians-young-turk-regime-1915-1916.HTML |date=25 January 2016 |url=https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/extermination-ottoman-armenians-young-turk-regime-1915-1916.html |language=en |access-date=19 November 2020 |archive-date=16 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216152531/https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/extermination-ottoman-armenians-young-turk-regime-1915-1916.html |url-status=live }}</ref>