by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi investigators are examining a mass grave discovered by Iraqi soldiers advancing on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
On Monday, November 7th, Iraqi troops noticed a pungent smell while approaching the town of Mosul. The mass grave was discovered behind an “earthen embankment” near an agricultural college. Upon bulldozing, the land revealed bones poking out from beneath the surface, along with scraps of clothing, garbage bags, and “human remains swarming with flies.” An Iraqi cabinet official in charge of mass grave inspections stated that investigators are on their way to the grave site to conduct examinations and determine the cause of death.
The first officials at the site noted that the grave likely holds approximately 100 bodies, most of which are decapitated. Although the victims’ identities are currently unclear, authorities believe that the bodies are likely those of Iraqi security forces members and their relatives. There is rising concern, however, that children may be among the deceased due to a child’s stuffed animal that had been pulled from the grave by a soldier.
The U.N. Office of Human Rights indicated that it is investigating into whether the mass grave is connected to reports of police officers being killed in the same area. The spokeswoman for the Office of Human Rights stated that it had received reports of 50 former Iraqi police officers killed in a building outside Mosul. She further noted that the building cited in these reports was the same as the agricultural college near which the mass grave was found.
On Tuesday, November 8th, authorities discovered two additional mass graves containing 23 bodies, including the remains of women and children. Officials are concerned that these mass graves could be just the “tip of the iceberg.” It appears to be the latest of several mass graves found in territory that has been retaken from the Islamic State, which is known for massacring hundreds of individuals across northern and central Iraq.
For more information, please see:
Northwest Herald—Investigators probe mass grave found near Mosul, Iraq—09 November 2016
Wall Street Journal—Remains in Mass Grave Near Mosul Identified—08 November 2016
Fox News—Iraqis investigate decapitated bodies in mass grave near ISIS-held Mosul—08 November 2016
BBC News—Mass graves in Iraq reveal Islamic State horrors—08 November 2016
