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Mass Graves Of IS Victims Found In Iraq


Iraqi forces search the site of a suspected mass grave containing the remains of victims of the Islamic State group last month, southwest of Hawija.
Iraqi forces search the site of a suspected mass grave containing the remains of victims of the Islamic State group last month, southwest of Hawija.

Iraqi media reports say two mass graves containing 90 bodies have been discovered near the northern town of Sinjar.

Iraqi news portal Shafaq News reported that the bodies of men, women, and children were found near Sinjar, which was seized by the Islamic State (IS) militant group in 2014.

IS militants are believed to have executed hundreds of Yazidi men and boys and enslaved thousands of women and their children.

An unknown number of women and children were moved to the Syrian city of Raqqa, which served as IS's de facto capital until October, when it was seized by Syrian Kurdish and Arab forces.

Sinjar was retaken from IS in late 2015 and over 30 mass graves of Yazidis have since been found there.

The Yazidi faith has elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam. The IS group considers them "devil worshippers."

Most of the Yazidi population, numbering around half a million, remains displaced in camps inside the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.

Based on reporting by dpa, Shafaq News, and Alghad Press

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