Report Iraq Begins Haunting Dig at Suspected IS Mass Grave in Mosul

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Picture courtesy of CBS. AP photo

 

Iraqi officials have started excavating a suspected mass grave near Mosul, believed to be filled with victims of the Islamic State's brutal reign a decade ago. Local authorities, alongside forensic teams, are working meticulously at the al-Khafsa sinkhole, aiming to find out what's under it.

 

The Martyrs' Foundation's Ahmad Qusay al-Asady reported that this endeavour, initiated on August 9, was a response to Nineveh Governor Abdulqadir al-Dakhil's call. Initially, efforts focus on retrieving visible remains and evidence, paving the way for a comprehensive exhumation that seeks international help.

 

ODuring an initial 15-day period, the foundation's teams intend to create a detailed database by collecting DNA from families of those presumed lost. Al-Asady stressed the importance of precise identification, hindered by site challenges like sulphur water and unexploded ordnance, before full exhumation can progress.

 

Witness and family testimonies suggest thousands could be interred at Khasfa, purportedly Iraq's largest mass grave, though confirmations are pending. Past discoveries in Iraq and Syria trace back to both the Islamic State’s horrific acts and Saddam Hussein’s oppressive rule, some harbouring women and children among the dead.

 

The Islamic State, notorious for its violence and control over vast Iraqi and Syrian territories, was infamously brutal, especially towards the Yazidis and Shiites. The group's downfall came between 2017 and 2019, with major territorial losses in Mosul and Raqqam, reported CBS.

 

Rabah Nouri Attiyah, a lawyer with extensive experience in missing persons cases, regards Khasfa as a critical find, potentially modern Iraq's largest grave site. Approximately 70% of the remains are believed to be Iraqi army and police personnel, the rest including Yazidis.

 

Attiyah’s personal loss to IS violence fuels his mission to uncover the truth, with many eyewitnesses affirming mass executions at the sinkhole. According to their accounts, IS buses transported victims, some of whom suffered tragic decapitations.

 

TAttiyah's operation is pivotal for many individuals, including himself, who are seeking closure by identifying lost relatives among the remains at Khasfa. This grave is expected to contain numerous security forces personnel and other victims of IS brutality, marking another painful chapter in Iraq’s history.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from CBS 2025-08-18