Those left behind were killed or arrested, the book says. Human Rights Watch found the most incriminating documents in the boxes and published them in Arabic and English in its book. For example, Directive 4008 orders the execution of anyone aged 15 to 70 found in the prohibited zones. Joost Hiltermann, who directed the Human Rights Watch effort, said the organization found numerous copies of this directive in the boxes because it was sent to the secret police in all the cities and towns the Kurds overran. Hiltermann said his group documented 40 chemical weapons attacks by Iraq against Iraqi Kurds from evidence in the files and interviews with victims.
Some documents explicitly report the use of chemical weapons.
For example, Human Rights Watch published one document signed by Capt. Kifah Ali Hassan, director of the Intelligence Center of Kalar. Other documents reported victims going blind, a symptom of a chemical attack, Hiltermann said. One volume of the archived papers begins Sept. 12, 1987. They might attack oil facilities in Kirkuk.