News / Iraq

Iraqi army troops find dozens of bodies in mass grave in Nineveh

Monday, 27 November 2017 1:32 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 27 November 2017 5:26 PM ]

In this file photo, bones, suspected to belong to members of Iraq's Izadi community, are seen in a mass grave on the outskirts of the town of Sinjar. (Photo by Reuters)

Iraqi army forces have found a mass grave in the country’s northern province of Nineveh containing the bodies of more than eight dozen members of Izadi minority, who are believed to have been executed by Takfiri Daesh terrorists when they were in control of an area there.

Brigadier General Mohamed al-Shemari said the mass grave contains the bodies of 98 people and is located in al-Ba'aj town, which was under control of Daesh extremists until June this year.

The grisly discovery was made less than a week after government forces found a mass grave, containing the bodies of 73 people, men, women and children executed by Daesh terrorists, in the Rambussi area near the town of Qahtaniyah, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Mosul.

Back in August 2014, Daesh terrorists overran the town of Sinjar, killing, raping, and enslaving large numbers of Izadi Kurds.

The region was recaptured in November 2015, during an operation by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Izadi fighters.

The Office of Kidnapped Affairs in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk said earlier this year that around 3,500 Izadi Kurds were still being held captive by Daesh extremists, adding that a large proportion of the abductees were women and children.

The Endowments and Religious Affairs Ministry of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government announced in early August that Daesh’s genocide against Izadis had forced nearly 360,000 members of the minority to flee their hometowns, and another 90,000 had left Iraq and taken refuge in others countries.

It added that Daesh militants have kidnapped 6,417 Izadi Kurds, including 1,102 women and 1,655 children, since 2014.

Additionally, 2,645 children have lost their first line of protection, and the number includes 220 kids whose parents are still being held captive.

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