On August 17, local time, excavation of the massive mass grave at Al-Khasfa, south of Nineveh Governorate’s capital, Mosul, began. The exhumation was led by local authorities and carried out in coordination with various departments, including the Judiciary, the Iraqi Martyrs Foundation and the Mass Grave Authority, the aim is to expose the heinous crimes committed by the extremist group Islamic State.
According to National Iraqi News Agency reports, Shier, governor of Nineveh Governorate Province, said at a press conference that the first stage of excavation of the mass grave has been started, the site is a “Horrific crime” and “Nineveh Governorate’s deepest wound”. According to Dashiell, ISIS executed about 20,000 people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds during its rule. The University of Mosul are preparing to use biological research to help identify the remains.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of excavation, safety and security has also been achieved without fail. “Security has been deployed and will be supported by local military, police and militia forces,” said matroshi, Nineveh Governorate militia operations commander, adding that “Security forces have begun to inspect border areas such as the Syrian region of Deir Al-zour, which borders Iraq, confirming that the area is 100 per cent secure.”
“This is one of the largest mass graves in the history of mankind,” said Pervez Musharraf, president of the Nineveh Governorate Court, according to Iraqi media reports. During the period of Isis control of Mosul from 2014 to 2017, it is reported that they carried out dozens of executions every day in the Al-Khasfa mass grave and mercilessly pushed the remains of victims into the grave. Approximately 70 per cent of Al-Khasfa’s remains belong to Iraqi army and police personnel. It is estimated that there may be between 2,000 and 4,000 or more bodies in the pit. More than 200 mass graves left by the Islamic State have been found in several northern Iraqi provinces.