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Mass grave of Izadi women found in northern Iraq

This file photo shows Kurdish Peshmerga forces inspecting a site in Hardan village in northern Iraq, where Daesh Takfiri terrorists allegedly executed Izadi people. (AP photo)

A mass grave, which is thought to contain the bodies of dozens of Izadi women executed by the Daesh Takfiri militants, has been discovered in northern Iraq.

Found on Saturday, the grave is located on the edge of the town of Sinjar, which Kurdish forces managed to retake from Daesh in a major operation this week.

The grave has not been excavated yet but Miyasir Hajji, a local council member for Sinjar, said the site is believed to hold the remains of 78 women aged between 40 and 80, citing some young women who had been enslaved by Daesh and witnessed the executions but later escaped.

"It seems the (Daesh) terrorist members only wanted young girls to enslave," Hajji added, a reference to the Takfiri group militants who use women as sex slaves.

This file photo shows an internally-displaced Izadi girl who has taken shelter at a school in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Dahuk, 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad. (AP photo)

 

Daesh terrorists captured Sinjar in August last year in an offensive that forced thousands of Izadis to flee to a mountain near the town. They were surrounded by the Takfiris there.

On Thursday morning, Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Izadi fighters launched a ground operation to push the Takfiris out of Sinjar, situated over 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.

President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Massoud Barzani announced on Friday that the northern town was liberated after battles with the Daesh terrorists.

Following the town’s liberation, Iraqi Kurdish forces started to clear bombs planted by Daesh terrorists in Sinjar so that Izadis could return to the town.

"Until now, we defused 45 bombs and a car bomb," said Sulaiman Saeed, a member of Peshmerga forces who works in explosives disposal, on Saturday adding, "Bombs are widespread in houses.”

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh began its terror activities through the Iraqi territory in June 2014. Army soldiers and Popular Mobilization Units have joined forces, and are seeking to take back militant-held regions in joint operations.


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