Dozens of Yazidi women and children's bodies found in Iraq mass graves
Iraqi militias have uncovered two more mass graves containing the bodies of 140 civilians in a Yazidi area in the north of the country.
2 min read
Dozens of mass graves have been uncovered in Iraq [AFP]
More than 140 bodies - including women and children - have been uncovered in two new mass graves in a Yazidi area of northern Iraq, as government forces find more evidence of Islamic State group war crimes.
Pro-government Hashd al-Shaabi militia forces said they discovered "a mass grave with the bodies of 20 women and about 40 children in the village of Kabusi, south of Sinjar".
"In the Jazira residential complex, also south of Sinjar, 80 other bodies, mostly Yazidis, were discovered," the group added.
It follows IS lightening advance in northern Iraq in 2014, including areas populated by the Yazidi ethnic and religious minority who are considered "infidels" by the jihadi group.
Thousands of Yazidi women were held as slaves by the group, while men and children were murdered by IS fighters and their bodies dumped in mass graves.
Iraqi government forces and Kurdish militias have uncovered dozens of mass graves since they won back territories from IS over the past two years.
Kurdish militias captured Sinjar from IS in November 2015 before Iraqi security forces took over the region in October.
On 22 November, Iraqi forces said they had found a mass grave in Sinjar containing the bodies of dozens of Yazidi civilians.
Yazidis believe in one God who created the world and entrusted it to seven Holy Beings, the most important of which is Melek Taus, or the Peacock Angel.
Pro-government Hashd al-Shaabi militia forces said they discovered "a mass grave with the bodies of 20 women and about 40 children in the village of Kabusi, south of Sinjar".
"In the Jazira residential complex, also south of Sinjar, 80 other bodies, mostly Yazidis, were discovered," the group added.
It follows IS lightening advance in northern Iraq in 2014, including areas populated by the Yazidi ethnic and religious minority who are considered "infidels" by the jihadi group.
Thousands of Yazidi women were held as slaves by the group, while men and children were murdered by IS fighters and their bodies dumped in mass graves.
Iraqi government forces and Kurdish militias have uncovered dozens of mass graves since they won back territories from IS over the past two years.
Kurdish militias captured Sinjar from IS in November 2015 before Iraqi security forces took over the region in October.
On 22 November, Iraqi forces said they had found a mass grave in Sinjar containing the bodies of dozens of Yazidi civilians.
Yazidis believe in one God who created the world and entrusted it to seven Holy Beings, the most important of which is Melek Taus, or the Peacock Angel.
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