Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake Fallujah -- one of the jihadists' most emblematic bastions -- two weeks ago.
Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake Fallujah -- one of the jihadists' most emblematic bastions -- two weeks ago.
Baghdad
: Iraqi forces involved in operations to retake the city of Fallujah on Monday found a mass grave believed to contain 400 bodies, a provincial official and a senior officer said.
A colonel in the police of Anbar, where Fallujah is located, said the mass burial site was discovered in the town of Saqlawiya, northwest of Fallujah in the Euphrates Valley.
-"The security forces of the federal police, the army and the Hashed al-Shaabi found a mass grave in the Shuhada neighbourhood during a mine clearing operation,-" he said.
-"The mass grave contains about 400 bodies of members of the military. There are also some civilians,-" he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to the press.
The colonel said most of the victims appeared to have been shot in the head.
-"The security forces have opened the mass grave and started transferring the bodies for identification,-" he said.
The bodies are believed to belong mostly to Iraqi soldiers who were massacred by the Islamic State group in a series of devastating attacks on army bases in the area.
-"The organisation (IS) executed many members of the military, as well as civilians, in this area in late 2014 and early 2015,-" he said.
Rajeh Barakat, a member of the Anbar provincial council, confirmed the discovery.
-"The mass grave also includes civilians executed by Daesh (IS) on various charges such as spying or breaking the organisation's rules,-" he said.
Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake Fallujah -- one of the jihadists' most emblematic bastions -- two weeks ago.
The offensive included operations to seal the siege of Fallujah by retaking the smaller town of Saqlawiya and its surroundings, a phase which has nearly been completed.
