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89 bodies found in Iraqi mass grave

A mass grave has been found in Iraq with the bodies of 89 people inside, apparently Iraqi soldiers killed by Islamic State.

The bodies of 89 people, thought to be soldiers killed by Islamic State, have been found in a mass grave in Iraq.

Officials say the grave was found on Saturday in the grounds of a presidential palace complex in the city of Tikrit, which was recaptured from IS in March 2015.

The bodies were thought to belong to soldiers who were captured while fleeing a nearby military base during the mid-2014 offensive in which Islamic State captured much of Sunni-populated northern and western Iraq.

The Sunni jihadist group claimed at the time to have executed 1,700 Shiite soldiers who had surrendered to it after fleeing Camp Speicher. It said 800 Sunni troops had been "pardoned."

Photographs published by the group showed large groups of young men being rounded up, driven in the backs of trucks to fields, and then made to lie on the ground in rows as gunmen apparently opened fire on them.

A video later released showed other men being hustled to the riverside one by one, beaten, shot in the head and thrown in the water.

An investigation into the massacre by Human Rights Watch identified execution sites at the palace complex. Several other mass graves have been found there since the recapture of the city.

In August, 36 extremist militants convicted of involvement in the massacre were hanged.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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