MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 7 (UPI) — Iraq’s Joint Military Command said a mass grave with the decapitated bodies of 100 civilians has been discovered inside of a school near a town south of Mosul previously controlled by the Islamic State.
The discovery was made in the School of Agriculture on the outskirts of Hammam al-Alil, which was captured by Iraqi security forces on Monday, CNN reported. Iraq is sending special teams to investigate the mass grave.
The Islamic State, also known as Daesh, ISIL and ISIS, is accused of carrying out war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as indiscriminate killings, rape and genocide.
“Gangs of ISIS militants continue to commit crimes against our people,” Iraq’s Joint Military Command said in a statement referring to the mass grave discovery.
On Monday, Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq said the town of Bashiqa, near Mosul, is under its full control after battle against the Islamic State.
Mosul is considered one of the most important battles in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq, as it is considered the militant Islamist group’s last major stronghold in the country. The United States recently said it was preparing an offensive to remove the militant Islamist organization from its other stronghold, Syria’s Raqqa city.
