News / Iraq

Bomb-rigged mass grave holding 123 people found in northern Iraq

Saturday, 28 November 2015 6:25 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 28 November 2015 6:26 PM ]

The photo shows members of the Izadi minority at the site of a mass grave on February 3, 2015, in an area near Sinjar.

Iraqi officials say a bomb-rigged mass grave, thought to be containing the remains of more than 100 people killed by Daesh militants, has been discovered in the country’s north.

Iraqi officials said on Saturday that the grave, which held the remains of 123 people, was found in an area west of the town of Sinjar.

According to Mahma Khalil, the official responsible for the area, the grave, which was surrounded by a large number of explosives, was found after some of the remains were exposed by rainwater.

Khalil added that the grave has not been excavated yet.

The remains in the grave are believed to belong to members of Iraq’s Kurdish Izadi minority group, which came under attack by Daesh Takfiri terrorists last year.

Back in August 2014, Daesh militants attacked and overran Sinjar, killing, raping, and enslaving large numbers of Izadis. Sinjar was later recaptured on November 13 during an operation by Iraqi Peshmerga forces and Izadi fighters.

The discovery comes days after another mass grave was found in the area, which contained the remains of some 80 women aged from 40 to 80.

In another development on Saturday, at least seven people, including two policemen, were killed and about 20 others wounded in a bomb attack in Iraq’s northern Tuz Khurmatu district, located north of the capital, Baghdad.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group began an offensive in the Arab country in June 2014.

The United Nations says a total of 714 Iraqis were killed and another 1,269 wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in October alone.

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