Mass grave of security personnel found south of Hawija

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi troops ran into a mass grave of army and police conscripts who were executed by Islamic State in south of Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk.

A statement by the media service of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) issued on Monday said, “the fourth brigade of PMUs and Federal Police found a mass grave containing the relics of police and army conscripts at the liberated village of al-Therban.”

PMUs and Federal Police troops managed to free the village, along with others, on Monday.

Earlier on the day, Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, commander of the Hawija Operations, announced launching wide-scale military operations to free al-Rashad region, as part of the second phase of operations to liberate Hawija.

The Iraqi joint troops announced on Sunday retaking 28 villages near Hawija.

On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and the Joint Operations Command announced beginning of the second phase of Hawija offensive.

According to Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell, 557 IS militants were killed, while more than 100 villages and regions were liberated during the first phase, which launched on September 24th.

Hawija and other neighboring regions, west of Kirkuk, have been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.