News / Iraq

Iraqi Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters discover two Izadi mass graves

Saturday, 02 December 2017 1:49 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 02 December 2017 3:32 PM ]

In this file photo, Iraqi Kurdish forces look at the remains of Izadis killed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists in February 2015, after discovering a mass grave near the Iraqi village of Sinuni. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have found two mass graves in the country’s northern province of Nineveh, which contain the bodies of more than a hundred members of the Izadi minority group believed to have been executed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

The media bureau of the volunteer forces, commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, announced in a statement released on Saturday that fighters from the 15th Brigade unearthed a mass grave south of Sinjar, situated over 400 kilometers northwest of the capital Baghdad, on Saturday morning. The grave contained the bodies of 80 people.

Separately, members of the 53rd Brigade of Hashd al-Sha’abi forces also found a mass grave containing the bodies of 20 women and dozens of children in Qabusi village south of Sinjar.

The statement added that the pro-government fighters were waiting for competent teams to identify the bodies using DNA tests.

On November 27, Iraqi army forces uncovered an Izadi mass grave in al-Ba'aj town, which was under control of Daesh extremists until June this year. It contained the bodies of 98 people.

The grisly discovery was made less than a week after government forces found a mass grave containing the bodies of 73 people, men, women and children executed by Daesh in Rambussi area near the town of Qahtaniyah, located about 100 kilometers from Mosul.

Back in August 2014, Daesh overran the town of Sinjar, killing, raping, and enslaving large numbers of Izadi Kurds.

The region was recaptured in November 2015, during an operation by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Izadi fighters.

The Office of Kidnapped Affairs in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk said earlier this year that around 3,500 Izadi Kurds were still being held captive by Daesh extremists, adding that a large proportion of the abductees were women and children.

The Endowments and Religious Affairs Ministry of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government announced in early August that Daesh’s genocide against Izadis had forced nearly 360,000 members of the minority group to flee their hometowns, and that another 90,000 had left Iraq and taken refuge in other countries.

It added that Daesh terrorists had kidnapped 6,417 Izadi Kurds, including 1,102 women and 1,655 children, since 2014.

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