Iraqi security forces have unearthed yet another mass grave containing the bodies of at least 20 women tortured and slain by Daesh terrorists near the northern city of Mosul, which was once the terror group’s main stronghold in the Arab country.
“Relics of 20 women were found inside a mass grave while removing debris in western Mosul,” Iraqi Police Colonel Omar al-Hajjar said on Monday.
Al-Hajjar said that the victims were executed by the terrorists “as they were trying to escape toward the eastern side of the city during the liberation offensives last year.”
He said that the bodies of the victims along with their identity cards “were transferred to forensic medicine department in Mosul to extradite them to their relatives.”
Several mass graves have been found in the areas formerly controlled by Daesh militants since Iraqi forces launched their major offensive in October 2016 to liberate Mosul, the terror group’s last urban stronghold in the Arab state.
Last week, Iraqi lawmaker Farah al-Siraj said “4,000 bodies are still under the debris in the Old City of Mosul.”
Mosul had been under Daesh control since 2014, when the terrorist group started a terrorist blitz in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared in July 2017 the final victory over the Daesh terrorists in Mosul after eight months of combat against the extremists.
In mid-December, Al-Abadi declared the end of war against Daesh.
Daesh has gained notoriety for barbarity, heinous atrocities and sacrilegious acts. The terrorists of the group have been accused of committing gross human rights violations and war crimes in the areas they control in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
The United Nations said in a report in October that more than 21,000 Iraqis have lost their lives or sustained injuries due to the acts of violence and terrorism in Iraq since Daesh launched its campaign of terror in the embattled Arab country in 2014.