At least 21 bodies found in central Iraq mass grave

At least 21 bodies found in central Iraq mass grave

2011-05-15 23:27:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

BAGHDAD (BNO NEWS) -- Iraqi authorities have opened an investigation into the discovery of a mass grave in central Iraq, local media reported on Sunday.

The mass grave was found on Saturday in Amiriyah Fallujah, a city in Al Anbar province, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Baghdad. It follows the discovery of a much larger mass grave in western Iraq last month.

"Initially we found three bodies," Deputy Chairman Sa'doun Al-Sha'lan of Anbar's Provincial Council told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "We then found another 18 in an adjacent grave," he said, raising the total number of bodies recovered so far to 21.

The official said an investigation has been launched to determine the identities of those killed, how they died, and who is responsible. Al-Sha'lan said the mass grave dates back to at least 2005.

In mid-April, the bodies of at least 812 people who were killed under the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein were found in a mass grave in western Iraq. The victims, which included women and children who had been shot in the head, are believed to have been killed between 1980 and 1989.

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