Iraq says it has found nineteen mass graves containing the bodies of hundreds of Daesh terrorists in the newly-liberated city of Baiji.
Iraqi security forces released a statement on Wednesday saying members of allied Popular Mobilization units discovered a total of “365 bodies of Daesh terrorists” from the mass graves in the Asri neighborhood of Baiji, 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Baghdad, AFP reported. It was not clear, however, how long the corpses of militants had been buried there.
The northern city of Baiji, located in Salahuddin province, fell to the militants in June 2014. The city, which is home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery, has been the scene of fierce clashes between terrorists and pro-government forces over the past weeks.
Iraqi army troops and Popular Mobilization forces finally retook the city on Tuesday and cleansed it from militants. Last week, Iraqi officials had announced the liberation of the oil installations in the city.
Baiji is the second most significant area recaptured in Salahuddin over the past months as pro-government forces retook the provincial capital of Tikrit in late March after weeks of clashes with the militants. The liberation of Baiji could be a prelude to Iraq’s highly-anticipated offensive into Mosul, which has served as the de-facto capital of Daesh in Iraq.
The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh militants began their march through the Iraqi territory in June 2014.
The Daesh terrorist group is notorious for its barbarity, heinous atrocities and sacrilegious acts. The Takfiri militants have been accused of committing gross human rights violations and war crimes in areas they control, particularly in Libya, Syria, and Iraq.
