Iraqi authorities have pulled out the remains of 139 people from the large Alo Antar pit in which they are believed to be victims of the “Islamic State”, official Diya Karim said yesterday.
Alo Antar pit is located in Tal Afar about 70 kilometers west of Mosul in northern Iraq. The depth of the pit is between 42 and 12 meters.
It is not known how many bodies were thrown into the pit, but the search for other victims continues.
“The bodies of 139 people were exhumed, as well as body parts. Among them are men and women,” said Karim, who is director of the Mass Graves Service at the Martyrs Foundation, a state institution in charge of finding mass graves and identifying remains.
According to him, based on the testimony, these are the victims of the “Islamic State”.
The “Islamic State” held large parts of Syria and Iraq under its control, where its members committed numerous crimes, such as beheadings, torture and enslavement.
In northern Iraq, terrorists have committed some of the worst crimes against the Yazidi minority.
According to the United Nations (UN) estimates, they left behind more than 200 mass graves that could contain up to 12,000 bodies.
E.Dz.
