Relics of more than 100 Yazidis found in two mass graves in Sinjar
A cemetery for people who were killed in the clashes is seen at a grave in a schoolyard east of Mosul, Iraq, January 11, 2017. Picture taken 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
“Troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces]’s 15th brigade ran into a mass grave in Mujammaa al-Jazeerah region, south of Sinjar, on Saturday. Relics of 80 civilians were found inside,” the media service said in a statement. “Most of them were Yazidis.”
Moreover, “troops of the 53rd brigade confiscated a mass grave in Qaboussi village, south of Sinjar. Relics of more than 20 Yazidi women and tens of children were found,” the statement added.
“Troops are awaiting specialized teams to identify the relics of the victims through the DNA test,” it said.
On Sunday, a mass grave, composed of relics of 98 Yazidi victims, was found in Baaj town, west of Mosul.
On Saturday, the semi-official Al-Sabah newspaper quoted Shukr Melham Ilyas, head of Qahtaniyah town, as saying that troops confiscated a grave with relics of 73 Yazidi women, men and children in Rambousi region, west of Mosul.
Many Yazidis were persecuted and held in Mosul by Islamic State, which considered them devil-worshippers.
A study on the number of Yazidis affected showed that at least 9,900 of Iraq’s Yazidis were killed or kidnapped in just days in an attack by the militants in 2014.