Iraqi forces free Muhallabiyah town, discover mass graves containing 500 bodies

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi troops on Friday announced the liberation of Muhallabiyah town in eastern Tal Afar as well as the discovery of two mass graves in Badush town containing 500 bodies executed by the Islamic State (IS).

On Aug. 20, with support from the US-led coalition, Iraqi forces launched the military operation to retake Tal Afar town, IS’ last stronghold in the Nineveh Province.

The troops “fully liberated Muhallabiyah town with its 13 districts and areas,” announced Lieutenant General Abdulamir Rashid Yarallah, the Commander of the Tal Afar campaign.

The extremist group occupied the town in mid-2014 and then expanded to other parts of the Nineveh Province, including Tal Afar and Mosul.

In another statement, Yarallah mentioned the counter-terrorism forces liberated the al-Nida neighborhood located in the southwest of Tal Afar and began storming the neighboring area of Talia.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi army backed by Shia militia Hashd al-Shaabi, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), controlled the al-Khadra neighborhood in southern Tal Afar, according to the military press statement.

The latest map revealing the progress of the Tal Afar campaign shows that over 70 percent of the town has been liberated with only 30 percent under the control of the militant group.

The Iraqi forces’ security inspection teams also uncovered two mass graves in the town of Badush, northwest of Mosul, containing the bodies of 500 people believed to be from the Badush prison.

In a statement, the Iraqi army mentioned the prisoners were executed by IS after the capture of Mosul three years ago.

According to the report, the first mass grave contained 30 bodies while the second included 470 bodies.

On Saturday, the forces also announced they had liberated the neighborhood of Rabi’ and both the first and second Qadisiya neighborhoods in northwestern Tal Afar.

IS emerged in Mosul in June 2014, declaring their self-proclaimed caliphate. The city was liberated on July 10 this year after nine months of fierce clashes.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany