Iraqi security forces discover mass grave in Nineveh containing 70 Ezidis

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces discovered a mass grave in Nineveh Province containing the bodies of dozens of Yezidi (Ezidi) Kurds who were believed to be executed by the Islamic State (IS), a security source said on Saturday.

An unnamed security source told Iraqi media al-Etejah that security forces made the discovery in the town of Qahtaniya, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Mosul.

According to the source, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, the mass grave contained the bodies of 70 people. 

“The security forces had handed over all the bodies to the forensic department in Mosul to be identified and returned to relatives,” the source added.

Mass graves containing the remains of Ezidis, whose owners were killed in cold blood by IS militants, are regularly discovered.

On Dec. 29, Search teams in Iraq uncovered a grave containing 80 elderly and disabled women near the town of Sinjar (Shingal) who had been buried alive.

On Dec. 15, two mass graves containing the remains of dozens of Ezidis—mostly women and children killed by the extremist group—were found in Shingal town, west of Mosul.

Earlier in December, another two separate graves containing the remains of at least 140 people were uncovered in the same region.

Following their emergence in 2014, IS invaded the Ezidi-populated town and committed one of the most egregious massacres in recent history, murdering and kidnapping thousands.

Men and boys were killed immediately while women and girls were abducted and kept as sex slaves.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces, backed by the US-led coalition, liberated the town from the militant group the following year.

According to United Nations estimates, there are about 3,000 Ezidis who remain unaccounted for since the genocide.