Iraqi authorities have begun excavations at a site believed to be a mass grave left by the extremist group "Islamic State" during its reign of terror in the country a decade ago, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Local authorities are working with judicial authorities, forensic experts, the Iraqi Martyrs' Foundation and the Directorate of Mass Graves to excavate the site in Al-Hafsa, south of the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi state news agency NINA reported yesterday.
Ahmed Qusay al-Assadi, head of the Martyrs' Foundation's mass grave excavation department, told the AP that his team began work in Al-Hafsa on August 9 at the request of Nineveh Governor Abdul Qadir al-Dahil.
The operation is initially limited to collecting visible human remains and superficial evidence while preparing for a full exhumation, which authorities say will require international support.
After an initial 15 days work teams from the Mosul Martyrs Foundation will create a database and begin collecting DNA samples from the families of the alleged victims.
Al-Assadi explained that laboratory processing and the DNA database must be a priority to ensure correct identification. A full exhumation can only proceed once specialized assistance is provided to address the site's risks, including unexploded ordnance.
"Al-Hasfa is a very complex site," he said.
Based on unconfirmed accounts from eyewitnesses and victims' families and other unofficial evidence, authorities believe that thousands of bodies may be buried in the mass grave.