The Iraqi Forensic Medicine Department announced on Thursday that it has identified 53 victims found in mass graves in northern Iraq, all killed by ISIS.
According to Zaid Ali Abbas, the department’s director general, 32 of the victims were Yazidis buried in mass graves in the Shingal (Sinjar) district. With these new identifications, the total number of identified Yazidi victims has reached 275.
Additionally, forensic teams identified 21 victims from Hamam Al-Alil, an Arab-majority district in Nineveh. Since 2019, Iraq’s forensic teams have uncovered multiple mass graves, particularly in Nineveh province.
ISIS seized large parts of northern and western Iraq in 2014, including Shingal, where the group targeted Yazidis. According to the Yazidi Rescue Office, over 6,000 Yazidis were abducted, with thousands still missing. The latest identifications are part of ongoing efforts to bring closure to victims’ families.
