Northern iraq: Iraqi forces unearth mass grave
An Iraqi Shia paramilitary group made the discovery
Iraqi soldiers salute as they stand next to a mass grave for Shia soldiers from Camp Speicher who have been killed by Islamic State militants in the presidential compound of the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Tikrit April 6, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS
BAGHDAD:
The remains of hundreds of mainly Shia inmates killed by Islamic State militants when they overran a prison in northern Iraq more than two years ago have been unearthed by forces retaking the area from the group, a spokesman said. An Iraqi Shia paramilitary group made the discovery after driving the militants from the Badush area where the prison is located, as part of a wider US-backed campaign to dislodge Islamic State from the city of Mosul. “Initial checks of part of the mass grave revealed remains with prison uniforms and lined up in a way that indicates they were shot dead in groups,” said Karim Nouri, spokesman for the Hashid Shaabi, a state-run umbrella for Shia paramilitary groups.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2017.
The remains of hundreds of mainly Shia inmates killed by Islamic State militants when they overran a prison in northern Iraq more than two years ago have been unearthed by forces retaking the area from the group, a spokesman said. An Iraqi Shia paramilitary group made the discovery after driving the militants from the Badush area where the prison is located, as part of a wider US-backed campaign to dislodge Islamic State from the city of Mosul. “Initial checks of part of the mass grave revealed remains with prison uniforms and lined up in a way that indicates they were shot dead in groups,” said Karim Nouri, spokesman for the Hashid Shaabi, a state-run umbrella for Shia paramilitary groups.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2017.