Iraqi Civil Defense finds 143 bodies in mass grave in Mosul

MOSUL, Iraq — The Civil Defense Directorate of Iraq announced that 143 bodies had been exhumed from a mass grave in Mosul, Nineveh Governorate. The bodies are presumed to be victims of the Islamic State (ISIS).

The Directorate stated that their teams in Nineveh Governorate have exhumed the bodies of 143 unidentified skeletons from a mass grave in the Al-Rifai neighborhood behind Baha al-Din Mosque dating back to the liberation of Mosul.

“The Ratl Emergency Center, under the command of Mahmoud Abdel Mohsen, began the search,” said the Directorate. “In the presence of a representative of the Nineveh Operations Command, local police, forensic medicine and Mosul municipality, the bodies were exhumed and handed over to the forensic medicine department according to an official report.”

The United Nations estimates that the number of victims in mass graves in Iraq left by ISIS ranges between 6,000 and 12,000. Local authorities are still exhuming the remains of the victims.

In 2017, Iraq announced victory over ISIS after liberating all Iraqi territory under its control. At its peak, ISIS controlled roughly a third of Iraq. However, ISIS still maintains sleeper cells in large areas of Iraq and launches various attacks.