Iraqi officials began to excavate what is believed to be a common grave made by an extremist group from the Islamic state, during the ravages around the country, about a decade ago, writes AP.
The local authorities collaborate with the judicial system, the forensic investigations, the Iraq Martyrs’ Foundation and the direction for common tombs to excavate a crater located in Al-Khafsa, south of the city of North of the country, reported the Iraqi News Agency on Sunday.
The operation is initially limited to collecting visible human remains and surface samples, preparing the land for a complete exhumation that, according to officials, will require international support.
After the first 15 days of work, the teams of the foundation in Mosul will create a database and begin to collect DNA samples from the families of the alleged victims. Complete exhuminations can only continue after the specialized assistance is obtained to manage the dangers on the spot, including sulfurous waters and unexploded ammunition.
Based on the unconfirmed testimonies of witnesses and families, as well as other unofficial statements, authorities estimate that thousands of bodies could be buried there.
Leader of the group of Islamic state arrested by the US Army in Iraq and Syria operations
In Iraq and Syria, numerous common pits have been discovered
They contained thousands of bodies of the people considered to be killed by the extremist group.
At its peak, the Islamic state controlled an area of the size of half of the United Kingdom in Iraq and Syria and was renowned for its brutality. The Civil Decapita group. He was subjected to slavery and raped thousands of women in the Yazidi community, one of the oldest religious minorities in Iraq.
The group was defeated in Iraq in July 2017, when the Iraqi forces conquered the city of Mosul. Three months later, he suffered a major blow when the Kurde forces captured the city of Raqqa in North Syria, which had been the de facto capital of the group. The war against the Islamic state officially ended in March 2019, when the US fighters led and led by the Syrian democratic forces conquered the city of Baghuz in eastern Syria, the last strip of territory controlled by extremists.
