Iraqi authorities have uncovered the remains of tens of people in a mass grave in northern Iraq, likely victims of the Daesh terror group.
The bodies were discovered in the Alo Antar hole, a natural desert feature located in Tal Afar around 70km west of Mosul, which was the headquarters of the terror group between 2014 and 2017.
“We have removed the remains of 139 persons and also human body parts,” said Dia Karim, director of the mass graves department at the Foundation of Martyrs.
“They include women and men … according to testimonies, the victims date back to IS rule” or when their predecessor al-Qaeda in Iraq was in the area.
He added the victims were most likely “Yazidis, Shiite Turkmen and security forces personnel from Mosul”.
IS controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, but the combined effort of the Iraqi military, local armed groups and a US-led coalition saw the group’s power largely wiped out.
They still claim responsibility for sporadic attacks in northern Iraq and Syria, while the process of unearthing their many victims across the region has continued.
An official from the Foundation of Martyrs told AFP the victims in Alo Antar “were not buried but dumped” in a hole whose full depth ranges between 42 and 12 metres.
“Some of the victims had been shot and others were found with their throats cut,” stated Ahmed al-Assadi.
The UN estimates there could be as many as 200 mass graves across the region, containing as many as 12,000 bodies. More than one sinkhole has been identified as being used as a mass grave.
Natia Navrouzov, executive director at Yazda, an organisation advocating for the right of Yazidis, welcoming the uncovering of the grave at Alo Antar.
“We have been advocating for the exhumation of this specific mass grave for almost a decade,” she said in a statement, adding, “We believe that it will give answers and some closure to many Yazidi families but also to families from other communities.”
Berlin is still determining whether to abide by its obligations to the International Criminal Court…
At least six Israeli soldiers have taken their own lives in recent months, the Israeli…
The British government has announced it will comply with its obligations under domestic and international…
Air pollution is currently the most significant environmental health risk in Iran, accounting for 12%…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has directed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to engage with partners on…
More than one-third of American-Jewish teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 agree with…