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Iraq Starts Emptying Mass Graves in Search for Cadets Killed by ISIS Iraq Starts Emptying Mass Graves in Search for Cadets Killed by ISIS
(34 minutes later)
BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials have begun exhuming bodies from a series of mass graves containing some of the nearly 1,700 Iraqi Air Force cadets massacred by the Islamic State in June.BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials have begun exhuming bodies from a series of mass graves containing some of the nearly 1,700 Iraqi Air Force cadets massacred by the Islamic State in June.
“We’re still digging but we don’t know how many graves there are yet,” Kamil Amin, the spokesman for the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry, said on Tuesday. “We’re expecting big numbers.” “We’re still digging, but we don’t know how many graves there are yet,” Kamil Amin, the spokesman for the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry, said on Tuesday. “We’re expecting big numbers.”
So far, he said, officials have found eight mass graves, each containing dozens of bodies, all located in the sprawling complex of palaces in Tikrit, along the Tigris River, north of Baghdad.So far, he said, officials have found eight mass graves, each containing dozens of bodies, all located in the sprawling complex of palaces in Tikrit, along the Tigris River, north of Baghdad.
Only 12 bodies have been identified so far, Mr. Amin said, adding that officials were still in the process of matching remains against a DNA database of the 1,686 cadets who were registered as missing from Camp Speicher, a former American air base outside Tikrit, now used as an Iraqi base. Only 12 bodies have been identified so far, Mr. Amin said, adding that officials were still in the process of matching remains against a DNA database of the 1,686 cadets who were registered as missing from Camp Speicher, a former American air base outside Tikrit that is now used as an Iraqi base.
When extremists of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, overran Tikrit in June, officials at the air force academy at Camp Speicher ordered 1,700 cadets to return to their homes. They left, unarmed, and fell into the hands of Islamic State fighters. Camp Speicher itself never actually fell to the extremists.When extremists of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, overran Tikrit in June, officials at the air force academy at Camp Speicher ordered 1,700 cadets to return to their homes. They left, unarmed, and fell into the hands of Islamic State fighters. Camp Speicher itself never actually fell to the extremists.
The Islamic State posted videos showing groups of hundreds of the cadets being executed, and boasted of having killed 1,700 in all. The Islamic State posted videos showing groups of hundreds of the cadets being killed, and it boasted of having massacred 1,700 in all.
Mr. Amin said that officials were still searching for other mass graves in the area because the eight identified so far were unlikely to account for all of those missing.Mr. Amin said that officials were still searching for other mass graves in the area because the eight identified so far were unlikely to account for all of those missing.
Many of the victims were simply thrown into the Tigris River, where 35 bodies of cadets washed up at the nearest dam downstream, in Samarra. “We expect the river itself to be the biggest mass grave,” Mr. Amin said. “And we expect that in every city of our area that is liberated we will find a mass grave full of those who opposed ISIS.” Many of the victims were simply thrown into the Tigris River, where the bodies of 35 cadets washed up at the nearest dam downstream, in Samarra.
In the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, residents reported that the Islamic State had opened an office in the village of Athiba, just outside the city, to provide family members with the names of 300 people it had executed who were from villages south of Mosul. The families had still not been able to find the victims’ bodies, local officials said. “We expect the river itself to be the biggest mass grave,” Mr. Amin said. “And we expect that in every city of our area that is liberated we will find a mass grave full of those who opposed ISIS.”
In the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, residents reported that the Islamic State had opened an office in the village of Athiba, just outside the city, to provide family members with the names of 300 people it had killed who were from villages south of Mosul. The families had still not been able to find the victims’ bodies, local officials said.