Mass grave found near Raqa hospital

QAMISHLI (Syria): Dozens of bodies, including those of jihadists and civilians, have been found in a mass grave in the former Islamic State group stronghold of Raqa in Syria, a local official said on Saturday.

The former de facto “capital” of the group in northern Syria, Raqa saw the jihadists ousted by the United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in October last year.

Nearly 50 bodies had been recovered from the mass grave, which could contain up to 200 bodies, Abdallah al-Eriane, a senior official with Raqa Civil Council now running the city, said,

The mass grave was located under a football pitch, close to a hospital, where the jihadists had dug in before being chased out of the city.

“It was apparently the only place available for burials, which were done in haste. The jihadists were holed up in the hospital,” the official said, adding that some bodies were marked with the nom de guerre of the jihadist, while civilians just had first names.

In recent months, Syria and Iraq had discovered mass graves in areas occupied by the jihadists.

Syrian troops uncovered a mass grave containing the remains of more than 30 people killed by IS here in February.

It followed two other similar finds by the Syrian army.

IS, which proclaimed a “caliphate” over swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, had lost almost all the land it once controlled.

It had been held responsible for multiple atrocities during its reign of terror, including mass executions and decapitations.