BAGHDAD, Dec 27 (Alliance News): The remains of more than 100 Kurdish women and children, believed to have been executed during Saddam Hussein’s regime in the 1980s, have been discovered in a mass grave in Tal al-Shikha, southern Iraq’s Muthanna province.
Iraqi officials reported that exhumation efforts began earlier this month on the site, which was originally uncovered in 2019.
Zia Karim, an Iraqi government official, revealed that this is the second mass grave discovered at the location and described the harrowing sight of bodies—many wearing spring clothing—clearly indicating they were women and children.
Karim stated that the victims likely originated from the Kalar area of southern Sulaymaniyah province before being transported and buried at the site. Many remains show evidence of execution-style killings, with gunshot wounds to the head at close range.
Disturbingly, officials have not ruled out the possibility that some victims were burned alive, as some remains show no signs of bullet injuries.
The mass grave is a grim reminder of the atrocities committed during Saddam Hussein’s infamous ‘Anfal Operation’ (1987–1988), which resulted in the death of an estimated 180,000 people.
The ongoing exhumation serves to document the human rights violations perpetrated during his reign.
