Mass grave located in Diyala depending on IS fighter confessions
A mass grave. Representational photo.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) ِA human rights group in Diyala has declared locating a mass grave that contains remains of victims killed by the Islamic State northeast of the province based on one of the IS fighters confessions.
The grave will be opened upon getting the necessary approvals, the group added.
“Peshmerga forces recently detained an IS fighter who confessed during interrogations that a mass grave that includes victims existed in Saadiya, 60 KM northeast of Baquba,” Taleb al-Khazrangy, head of Diyala Organization for Human Rights, told AlSumaria News on Monday.
“Peshmerga forces have accurately located the grave, which will be opened over the coming few weeks after obtaining the required approvals,” he added. “The victims in the grave where executed by IS during its control on Saadiya after June 2014.”
“The information indicate that more than 100 civilians are missing in Saadiya, most of them were held by the group in Saadiya. We have been coordinating with security troops to identify them,” Khazrangy added.
Several mass graves containing the relics of civilians and security members have been discovered since Iraqi forces launched offensives on IS strongholds in October 2016. IS has posted footage of heinous executions it carried out with civilians for either fleeing areas under its control or acting as informants for security forces.