Iraq begins excavation of Al-Khasfa mass grave in Nineveh

NINEVEH — The Iraqi government pledged support Monday for efforts to identify victims at the Al-Khasfa mass grave in Nineveh Governorate, calling the site evidence of atrocities committed by ISIS and estimating that thousands of people were killed there.

On Sunday, authorities in Nineveh began the formal process of excavating Al-Khasfa, a massive sinkhole south of Mosul that ISIS used as a dumping ground for victims during its rule.

Government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi said, “We will work on documenting this heinous crime and informing the world of its scale,” adding that the government would provide full backing for technical and legal procedures to serve families of the victims and uphold their rights. He said evidence of ISIS’s crimes “continues to emerge even years after their defeat,” describing the group’s acts as “the worst ideological deviation and perverse aggression our region has witnessed in centuries.”

At a press conference near the site in the al-Adhba area, Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader al-Dakhil said nearly 20,000 people from Mosul and other parts of the governorate were executed by ISIS and thrown into the pit. “ISIS executed thousands of Nineveh residents without distinction, including Yazidis, Christians, Shabak and Turkmen,” he said. He added that more than 2,000 people were killed in a single day, including 600 from the Wadi Hajar neighborhood.

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced in March that 40 billion dinars ($27 million) had been allocated to fund the excavation, which officials estimate could take up to five years.

Full statement:

The evidence and proof of the crimes committed by the terrorist ISIS gangs continue to emerge even years after their defeat, retreat, and the cleansing of Iraqi land from the filth of their elements, who embodied the worst ideological deviation and perverse aggression our region has witnessed in centuries, along with the occupation by these terrorist organizations of wide areas in our dear governorates.

With the discovery of terrorist crimes at the “Al-Khasfa” site in Nineveh Governorate, which contains the remains of thousands of innocent Iraqi victims from various communities, the government affirms its support for all technical and legal efforts to identify the innocent victims, serve their families, and uphold all their rights. The government also pledges to work on documenting this heinous crime and informing the world of its scale.

Day by day, more evidence reinforces the extent of the brutality practiced by terrorism, which represented a continuation of the dictatorial practices committed by the former regime against our people. It also confirms the magnitude of the honorable victory achieved by the Iraqis and that the precious blood shed for this victory was not in vain.