Iraqis to avoid grave exhumations

Baghdad: Iraqis should not carry out hurried or ad hoc exhumations of mass graves left by jihadists, as this makes identifying victims more difficult, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. Dozens of mass graves have been discovered in areas retaken from the Islamic State jihadist group, whose rule in Iraq and Syria has been marked by widespread atrocities including mass summary executions. “The strong desire to exhume the remains of loved ones from (ISIS) mass graves is perfectly understandable, but hastily conducted exhumations seriously harm the chances of identifying the victims and preserving evidence,” Lama Fakih, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, said.