32 Yazidi victims remains to arrive in Sinjar

Shafaq News/ The remains of 32 Yazidi victims, killed and buried in mass graves by ISIS in 2014, are set to arrive in Sinjar on Friday, as confirmed by the human rights organization "Petrikor."

Kheiri Ali, director of the organization, told Shafaq News Agency that the remains will be brought from Mosul to the Sinjar district center, before being transported to the memorial site.

He added that during this phase, the victims' families will have the opportunity to open the coffins and examine the remaining belongings and clothing of the deceased.

"The following day, the victims will be buried in the Kogjo cemetery with a special religious ceremony fitting the scale of the tragedy they endured," Ali said.

To date, 274 bodies have been recovered from mass graves, with 58 mass graves opened in Sinjar. Another 35 graves remain to be excavated and investigated.

Ali emphasized that search teams and specialized committees are currently working to open three additional mass graves within the district center, as part of ongoing efforts to restore the victims' rights and document the atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidis.

On February 12, 2025, Dr. Zaid Ali Abbas, Director General of the Forensic Medicine Department, announced the delivery of the 32 Yazidi victims' remains to their families following the completion of identity verification tests.

In August 2014, ISIS launched a large-scale attack on the predominantly Yazididi strict of Sinjar, committing acts of genocide. In November 2015, Kurdish Peshmerga forces, supported by the US-led coalition, drove ISIS out of Sinjar.

In August 2017, the Iraqi government declared the defeat of ISIS in Nineveh province and later announced "victory" over the extremist group by the end of that year.