The remains of 139 people believed to have been massacred by ISIS were found in a mass grave in Tal Afar, west of Mosul. The victims are said to be Yazidi and Shiite Turkmen civilians and security forces personnel.
The remains of 139 people believed to have been massacred by ISIS gangs were found in Tal Afar, west of Mosul. Work continues to determine the identities of the victims in the Kora Eli Enter mass grave.
Authorities told Iraqi media that the body parts of 139 people were removed from the pit where they were dumped en masse. It is not yet known how many bodies were dumped, but the search for other bodies continues.
Witnesses claimed that the victims were Yazidi and Shiite Turkmen civilians and security forces personnel from Mosul.
Ahmad Esadi of the Iraqi Martyrs' Foundation said that the victims were not buried, but dumped in pits between 12 and 42 metres deep. According to Esadi, some of the victims were found shot, others with their throats slit. According to the clothes found on the bodies, the victims could be Yazidi and Turkmen civilians.
The bodies recovered from Kora Eli Enter were sent to forensic institutions for DNA testing and identification. The mass grave was discovered after the area was taken under control in 2017 but work to exhume the bodies began in May this year.
