Three Mass Graves in Mosul to Be Exhumed, One Believed to Hold Peshmerga Fighters
After more than a decade of searching, Iraqi authorities will finally exhume three mass graves in Mosul containing the remains of Peshmerga fighters, Ezidi Kurds, and civilians killed by ISIS, Nineveh Governor Abdulqadir Dakhil announced Thursday, with DNA testing planned to identify the victims.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The ground beneath Mosul has held its secrets for more than 10 years. On Thursday, Nineveh Governor Abdulqadir Dakhil announced at a press conference that three mass graves are to be exhumed in the province — sites that hold, in his words, the commingled blood of Peshmerga martyrs, Ezidi Kurds, and the people of Mosul.
"The remains of women, children, Ezidi Kurds, and Peshmerga fighters have been found," Dakhil said. He confirmed that the director of the mass graves department has promised DNA testing for the families of the victims, and emphasized that the sacrifices of those buried must be honored. "These mass graves are a testament to ISIS crimes against innocent people," he said.
The governor noted that ISIS had targeted all of Nineveh's people without distinction of ethnicity or religion, and that every effort has been made across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to locate mass graves and identify the remains of victims. The number of those buried in the three graves has not yet been determined, and families have been searching for their missing for over a decade. The graves are reported to contain the remains of women and children from Mosul as well.
In response to a question from Kurdistan24 correspondent Aram Bakhtiar, the governor confirmed that one of the three mass graves is believed to contain a number of Peshmerga fighters.
A broader effort to account for the missing
Thursday's announcement follows Kurdistan24's earlier reporting on April 14, when a specialized forensic and legal team was confirmed to be preparing the exhumation of a separate mass grave in Nineveh province — also believed to hold Peshmerga fighters taken prisoner by ISIS during the war. During the conflict, more than 50 Peshmerga were captured on various frontlines, and the fate of a significant number has remained unknown ever since.
A mass grave was also previously discovered in Hawija on Feb. 13, 2025, similarly believed to contain the remains of captured Peshmerga fighters.
Each exhumation brings the prospect of closure one step closer for families who have carried their grief in silence — waiting for the confirmation that only forensic science can now provide.