ISIS buried thousands in Syria, Iraq mass graves

Washington, Aug. 30: A survey of mass graves in Syria and Iraq has identified 72 sites in which Islamic State buried victims of its atrocities. Up to 15,000 victims of genocide and mass slaughter may be buried in the sites across territory where the militants formerly held sway, according to a comprehensive assessment by the Associated Press.

In exclusive interviews, photos and research, AP has documented and mapped 72 of the mass graves, the most comprehensive survey so far, with many more expected to be uncovered as the Islamic State group’s territory shrinks. In Syria, AP has obtained locations for 17 mass graves, including one with the bodies of hundreds of members of a single tribe all but exterminated when ISIS extremists took over their region. For at least 16 of the Iraqi graves, most in territory too dangerous to excavate, officials do not even guess the number of dead. In others, the estimates are based on memories of traumatised survivors, Islamic State propaganda and what can be gleaned from a cursory look at the earth. Still, even the known victims buried are staggering — from 5,200 to more than 15,000.

Sinjar mountain is dotted with mass graves, some in territory clawed back from ISIS after the group’s onslaught against the Yazidi minority in August 2014; others in the deadly no man’s land that has yet to be secured. ISIS made no attempt to hide its atrocities. But proving what United Nations officials and others have described as an ongoing genocide will be complicated as the graves deteriorate. The ISIS targeted the Yazidis for slaughter because it considers them infidels. The Yazidi faith has elements of Christianity and Islam but is distinct.“There’s been virtually no effort to systematically document the crimes perpetrated, to preserve the evidence,” said Naomi Kikoler, who recently visited for the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The graves are largely documented by the aid group Yazda.

Nearly every area freed from ISIS control has unmasked new mass graves. — AP