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Iraqi News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Excavation underway at Iraq's largest suspected IS mass grave
Mosul — Iraqi authorities have begun excavating the site of a mass grave believed to contain thousands of victims of the Islamic State (IS) group near Mosul city, the project's director told AFP on Sunday. The first phase, which was launched on August 10, includes surface-level excavation at the Khasfa site, director Ahmed al-Assadi said. An AFP correspondent visiting the site in northern Iraq on Sunday said the team unearthed human skulls buried in the sand. Khasfa is located near Mosul, where IS had established the capital of their self-declared 'caliphate' before being defeated in Iraq in late 2017. Assadi said that there were no precise figures for the numbers of victims buried there — one of dozens of mass graves IS left behind in Iraq — but a UN report from 2018 said Khasfa was likely the country's largest. Official estimates put the number of bodies buried at the site at at least 4,000, with the possibility of thousands more. The project director said the victims buried there include 'soldiers executed by IS', members of the Yazidi minority and residents of Mosul. Exhuming the bodies from Khasfa is particularly difficult, Assadi said, as underground sulphur water makes the earth very porous. The water may have also eroded the human remains, complicating DNA identification of victims, he added. Assadi said further studies will be required before his team can dig deeper and exhume bodies at the site — a sinkhole about 150-metre (nearly 500-foot) deep and 110-metre wide. Iraqi authorities said it was the site of 'one of the worst massacres' committed by IS jihadists, executing 280 in a single day in 2016, many of them interior ministry employees. In a lightning advance that began in 2014, IS had seized large swathes Iraq and neighbouring Syria, enforcing a strict interpretation of Islamic law and committing widespread abuses. The United Nations estimates the jihadists left behind more than 200 mass graves which might contain as many as 12,000 bodies. In addition to IS-era mass graves, Iraqi authorities continue to unearth such sites dating to the rule of Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2003.
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Iraq starts work on IS mass grave
MOSUL: Workers dig out human remains at the Khasfa mass grave site near this northern Iraqi city on Aug 17, 2025. - AFP BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have begun excavating the site of a mass grave believed to contain thousands of victims of the Islamic State (IS) group near Mosul city, the project's director told AFP on Sunday. The first phase, which was launched on Aug 10, includes surface-level excavation at the Khasfa site, director Ahmed Al-Assadi said. An AFP correspondent visiting the site in northern Iraq on Sunday said the team unearthed human skulls buried in the sand. Khasfa is located near Mosul, where IS had established the capital of their self-declared 'caliphate' before being defeated in Iraq in late 2017. Assadi said that there were no precise figures for the numbers of victims buried there — one of dozens of mass graves IS left behind in Iraq — but a UN report from 2018 said Khasfa was likely the country's largest. Official estimates put the number of bodies buried at the site at at least 4,000, with the possibility of thousands more. The project director said the victims buried there include 'soldiers executed by IS', members of the Yazidi minority and residents of Mosul. Exhuming the bodies from Khasfa is particularly difficult, Assadi said, as underground sulphur water makes the earth very porous. The water may have also eroded the human remains, complicating DNA identification of victims, he added. Assadi said further studies will be required before his team can dig deeper and exhume bodies at the site — a sinkhole about 150-m deep and 110-m wide. Iraqi authorities said it was the site of 'one of the worst massacres' committed by IS militants, executing 280 in a single day in 2016, many of them interior ministry employees. In a lightning advance that began in 2014, IS had seized large swathes Iraq and neighboring Syria, enforcing a strict interpretation of Islamic law and committing widespread abuses. The United Nations estimates the militants left behind more than 200 mass graves which might contain as many as 12,000 bodies. In addition to IS-era mass graves, Iraqi authorities continue to unearth such sites dating to the rule of Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2003. – AFP
Observer
a day ago
- Politics
- Observer
Iraq starts work on IS mass grave
BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have begun excavating the site of a mass grave believed to contain thousands of victims of the IS group near Mosul city, the project's director said on Sunday. The first phase, which was launched on August 10, includes surface-level excavation at the Khasfa site, director Ahmed al Assadi said. A correspondent visiting the site in northern Iraq said the team unearthed human skulls buried in the sand. Khasfa is located near Mosul, where IS had established the capital of their self-declared "caliphate" before being defeated in Iraq in late 2017. Assadi said that there were no precise figures for the number of victims buried there — one of dozens of mass graves IS left behind in Iraq — but a UN report from 2018 said Khasfa was likely the country's largest. Official estimates put the number of bodies buried at the site at least 4,000, with the possibility of thousands more. — AFP
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First Post
a day ago
- Politics
- First Post
Iraq begins dig at site of suspected IS mass grave near Mosul
Excavation at the site has proved especially difficult due to the presence of sulphur-laced underground water, which has made the soil soft and unstable Armoured vehicles belonging to Iraqi security forces are stationed outside the US Embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone, Iraq, June 12, 2025. File Image/Reuters Iraqi authorities have commenced excavation work at a suspected mass grave near the northern city of Mosul, believed to be one of the country's largest burial sites linked to atrocities committed by the Islamic State group, officials said Sunday (August 17). The site, known as Khasfa, is a yawning sinkhole situated just outside Mosul, where IS once declared the capital of its self-styled caliphate. The dig, which began on 10 August, marks the first phase of surface-level excavation, according to project head Ahmed al-Assadi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD An AFP correspondent at the scene described the discovery of human skulls poking through the sand: grim remnants of a chapter marked by terror and bloodshed. 'There are no exact figures,' Assadi said, referring to the number of victims. But a 2018 United Nations report identified Khasfa as likely Iraq's largest mass grave from the IS era. Official estimates suggest that at least 4,000 bodies were dumped there — with the possibility of thousands more still buried beneath. Assadi noted that those interred include soldiers executed by IS, local civilians, and members of the Yazidi religious minority — many of whom were systematically targeted by the jihadists. Excavation at the site has proved especially difficult due to the presence of sulphur-laced underground water, which has made the soil soft and unstable. This not only complicates digging but may also have eroded remains, making DNA identification harder, Assadi explained. The chasm itself stretches approximately 150 metres deep and 110 metres across — a vast, ominous wound in the earth. Further studies are required before deeper exhumation can proceed, Assadi said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In 2016 alone, IS fighters are believed to have executed as many as 280 people at Khasfa in a single day, many of them employees of Iraq's interior ministry, in what officials described as 'one of the worst massacres' carried out by the group. Between 2014 and 2017, IS militants swept across large parts of Iraq and Syria, imposing their harsh interpretation of Islamic law and carrying out widespread killings, abductions and sexual violence. The UN estimates that IS left behind more than 200 mass graves across Iraq, potentially containing up to 12,000 bodies. Even as the country grapples with the legacy of IS brutality, Iraqi authorities continue to uncover mass graves from earlier periods including from the regime of Saddam Hussein, toppled in a 2003 US-led invasion. With inputs from agencies
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Iraq starts work on IS mass grave thought to contain thousands
BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have begun excavating the site of a mass grave believed to contain thousands of victims of the Islamic State (IS) group near Mosul city, the project's director told AFP on Sunday. The first phase, which was launched on August 10, includes surface-level excavation at the Khasfa site, director Ahmed al-Assadi said. An AFP correspondent visiting the site in northern Iraq on Sunday said the team unearthed human skulls buried in the sand. Khasfa is located near Mosul, where IS had established the capital of their self-declared 'caliphate' before being defeated in Iraq in late 2017. Assadi said that there were no precise figures for the numbers of victims buried there -- one of dozens of mass graves IS left behind in Iraq -- but a UN report from 2018 said Khasfa was likely the country's largest. Official estimates put the number of bodies buried at the site at at least 4,000, with the possibility of thousands more. The project director said the victims buried there include 'soldiers executed by IS', members of the Yazidi minority and residents of Mosul. Exhuming the bodies from Khasfa is particularly difficult, Assadi said, as underground sulphur water makes the earth very porous. The water may have also eroded the human remains, complicating DNA identification of victims, he added. Assadi said further studies will be required before his team can dig deeper and exhume bodies at the site -- a sinkhole about 150-metre (nearly 500-foot) deep and 110-metre wide. Iraqi authorities said it was the site of 'one of the worst massacres' committed by IS jihadists, executing 280 in a single day in 2016, many of them interior ministry employees. In a lightning advance that began in 2014, IS had seized large swathes Iraq and neighbouring Syria, enforcing a strict interpretation of Islamic law and committing widespread abuses. The United Nations estimates the jihadists left behind more than 200 mass graves which might contain as many as 12,000 bodies. In addition to IS-era mass graves, Iraqi authorities continue to unearth such sites dating to the rule of Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2003. - AFP
