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Iraqi Kurds find two new mass graves containing 18 bodies near Mosul

Sunday, 27 November 2016 1:45 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 27 November 2016 3:31 PM ]

Members of the Izadi minority search for clues on February 3, 2015, that might lead them to missing relatives in the remains of people killed by Takfiri Daesh terrorists, a day after Kurdish forces discovered a mass grave near the Iraqi village of Sinuni, in the northwestern Sinjar area. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have found two mass graves in the country’s northern province of Nineveh, which are thought to be containing the bodies of more than a dozen Izadi Kurds murdered by Takfiri Daesh terrorists.

A local official said on condition of anonymity that the graves contain the remains of 18 Izadi citizens and were found in Ayn Ash Shababit region near the Daesh-held city of Mosul, located some 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, on Sunday.

Mahma Xelil, the mayor of Sinjar, said the latest discovery brings to 29 the number of Izadi mass graves unearthed so far.

A number of other mass graves have been found by Kurdish Peshmerga forces over the past months, containing the remains of the Izadi Kurdish minority, who were slain by Daesh.

Back in August 2014, Daesh militants overran Sinjar, killing, raping, and enslaving large numbers of Izadi Kurds. The town was later recaptured on November 13, 2015, during a two-day operation by Peshmerga forces and Izadi fighters.

The Office of Kidnapped Affairs in the northern Iraqi city of Duhok says around 3,500 Izadi Kurds are being held captive in Daesh-held areas, and a large proportion of the abductees are women and children.

Additionally, Iraqi Air Force fighter jets carried out a series of airstrikes against Daesh positions in the strategic Tal al-Zalat region west of Mosul, killing 32 terrorists and destroying six vehicles belonging to them.

The aerial attacks were reportedly conducted in coordination with pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units.

An F-16 fighter jet is seen on the tarmac at Iraq's Balad air base in Salahuddin Province, north of the capital Baghdad, on July 20, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Another 54 Daesh extremists were killed and five pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns destroyed as Iraqi jets struck militant hideouts in Mosul’s southern region of al-Masaed.

After months of preparation, Iraqi army soldiers, backed by pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched an operation on October 17 to retake Mosul from the Daesh terrorists.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, will be fully recaptured by year-end.

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