Blood samples to be taken for identification drive
Excavations begin at mass grave in Tal Afar, victims of ISIS atrocities unearthed
NINEVEH, Iraq — Authorities in Tal Afar, western Nineveh, began excavations Wednesday at the “Alu Antar” mass grave, located about 7 kilometers north of the town center. The grave is believed to hold the remains of victims killed by ISIS between 2014 and 2017.
During ISIS’s occupation of Tal Afar, approximately 1,200 residents were abducted, including 460 women and girls and 120 children. The fate of many remains unknown despite the liberation of the region, with only 52 individuals rescued to date.
Ahmad Qusay Al-Asadi, head of the mass graves excavation team, told 964media, “Following the directives from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani during his recent visit to Nineveh, we have initiated the preparations to open the Alu Antar mass grave under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister’s Human Rights Advisor, Khalaf Zaidan Khalaf.”
This excavation is part of a broader effort that includes a campaign to collect and match blood samples from the victims’ relatives in Tal Afar. This is the third such campaign aimed at identifying the victims recovered from the mass grave. In March 2023, a similar effort was made to collect blood samples from the families of the missing to compare with the remains and help identify the bodies.
Ali Habib, Director of the Human Rights Office in Tal Afar, commented, “After the liberation of Tal Afar in 2017, our documentation section began reporting on the mass grave to the concerned authorities. We have documented approximately 1,200 missing persons, including children and women. Our center, which holds consultative status with the United Nations, has contributed to documenting the mass grave and the ongoing work.”]
Khaleel Mohsen, qaymaqam of Tal Afar, noted, “During the Prime Minister’s visit to Tal Afar, one of the residents’ demands was to open the Alu Antar mass grave, which contains the remains of around 1,500 people killed by ISIS, representing various communities in the region.”
Mohsen added, “Today, the work has officially begun, and we are present with the security, health, and supporting departments to ensure the success of this operation.”
For the first time, specialists and experts in detecting snakes are being employed due to the presence of snakes, insects, and reptiles in the mass grave.
“The grave contains hundreds of bodies of Turkmen, Yazidi, women, children, and men, killed by ISIS after it took over the area in the summer of 2014,” Mohsen concluded.
The predominantly Shia-populated Tal Afar and the neighboring Yazidi-majority Sinjar were the primary targets of ISIS atrocities after 2014 when the group seized control of the region.
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