Iraq’s Kirkuk exhumes 100+ ISIS victims' remains, including Peshmerga forces

Shafaq News/ On Monday, Iraq’s Kirkuk Province exhumed more than 100 remains of victims who were killed by ISIS during its control of the area.

Mohammed Ibrahim Hafez, head of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, told our agency that the Mass Graves Committee has exhumed 105 unidentified remains from the al-Bakara camp. Meanwhile, a security source confirmed that among the victims were members of the Peshmerga forces.

The process of identifying the victims is ongoing, Hafez said, urging Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to “allocate a special budget to expedite the completion of this case… Mass graves in the districts of Riyadh, Al-Rashad, and Zab require government funding for excavation, with varying numbers of remains in each.”

Earlier in February, Iraq handed over the remains of 32 Yazidi victims from Sinjar, executed by ISIS, to their families. Additionally, the remains of 17 individuals were discovered in the Al-Hawija district, southwest of Kirkuk. The bodies of 28 residents of Nineveh, most of whom were security personnel, were also found south of Mosul.

ISIS in Iraq

Iraq has identified over 200 mass graves linked to atrocities committed by Islamic State (ISIS) between 2014 and 2017, according to the United Nations. These graves, primarily located in Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Saladin, contain the remains of thousands of victims, including Yazidis, Shia Muslims, and other minorities.

Estimates suggest up to 12,000 victims may be buried in these sites. Some graves also date back to earlier violence, including crimes attributed to al-Qaeda. Iraq’s authorities estimate that as many as 400,000 people remain missing, and the number of mass graves could be even higher.