New mass graves found in Iraq could have 400 bodies

In this Saturday, November 11, 2017 frame grab from video, bones lie on the ground in an area recently retaken from the Islamic State group, at an abandoned base near the northern town of Hawija, Iraq. Kirkuk Gov. Rakan Saed said on Sunday, November 12, 2017, that the bodies of civilians and security forces have been found at the mass grave that could contain up to 400 bodies. (Kirkuk Governor’s Office via AP)

KIRKUK, Iraq—Iraqi security forces have found mass graves in an area recently retaken from the Islamic State group that could contain up to 400 bodies, an Iraqi official said on Sunday.

The bodies of civilians and security forces were found in an abandoned base near Hawija, a northern town retaken in early October, Kirkuk governor Rakan Saed said. He did not say when authorities would start exhuming the bodies from the mass graves.

Khalaf Luhaibi, a local shepherd who led troops to the site, said IS used to bring captives to the area and shoot them dead or pour oil over them and light them on fire. The area was strewn with torn clothing and what appeared to be human bones and skulls.

Authorities have already uncovered several mass graves in other areas recently newly liberated by the United States-backed Iraqi forces.

The Iraqi forces have driven the extremists from nearly all the territory they once controlled, with some fighting still underway near the western border with Syria.

On Saturday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced an operation to capture a patch of territory on the western edge of the country near the border with Syria. Hours later, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced seizing Romana area, saying the troops would head to nearby town of Rawa.

According to Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the Shiite-majority paramilitary forces, Rawa is the last Iraqi town held by IS, which still control some scattered small villages in mainly desert areas.    /kga