By Anas al-Bar | 2024-10-08

During its control of parts of Iraq between 2014 and 2017, the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) left behind more than 200 mass graves containing thousands of victims.

Over years of cooperation, Iraqi authorities and the United Nations Investigative Team promoting accountability for ISIS crimes (UNITAD), completed excavations at 68 mass graves, exhumed the remains of more than 900 victims and collected evidence to support accountability efforts, UNITAD said in a September 8 report.

With the conclusion of UNITAD's mandate on September 17, Iraq must now complete the task of ensuring justice and accountability for ISIS's victims.

Local experts will continue to excavate graves, exhume victims' remains and conduct genetic analyses to determine their identities.

Excavating Alu Antar

The Iraqi Mass Graves Directorate recently resumed operations at the Bir Alu Antar mass grave in Tal Afar, Ninawa province, Shafaq News reported September 28.

After opening the site in May and exhuming 159 bodies, new remains were discovered, prompting further excavation.

Alu Antar, a deep natural sinkhole, is believed to be one of the largest sites of ISIS's executions and mass burials. Human rights groups and local sources believe there could be as many as 1,000 victims buried there.

Some of the victims were handcuffed and blindfolded and bore signs of gunshot wounds, while some were clearly thrown into the pit alive.

Some were wearing orange jumpsuits that ISIS used to show its victims wearing in its propaganda videos before executing them.

Most of the victims were elderly or women, said Ahmed Qusay al-Asadi, head of the mass graves excavation teams.

"All the exhumed remains were handed over to the Forensic Medicine Department in Baghdad to examine bone samples and match the results with the data of blood samples taken from the victims' families to determine the identity of each victim," he told Al-Fassel.

Yazidi victims

The exhumation of mass graves continues to incriminate ISIS for the horrific murders of innocent people, said Diaa Kareem, director of the Mass Graves Affairs and Protection Department at the Martyrs' Foundation.

Work at the Alu Antar site is difficult and complex "due to the depth of the sinkhole, which reaches about 25 meters," he told Al-Fassel.

The bodies at Alu Antar are of residents of the Yazidi and Turkmen towns of Sinjar and Tal Afar, he said.

ISIS killed and enslaved thousands of Yazidis and other minorities, with more than 80 mass graves containing hundreds of Yazidis.

The issue of mass graves in Iraq remains the biggest challenge facing the authorities. Reports estimate they contain the remains of 400,000 Iraqis.