Islam Times - Iraq Exhuming Remains of Women, Children Killed by Saddam

Islam Times - Iraqi authorities have started exhuming the remains of approximately 100 Kurdish women and children reportedly killed by Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s.

The mass grave was found in Tal al-Shaikhia, Muthanna province, about 15-20 kilometers from the main road, AFP reported.

Dhiaa Karim, Director of the Department of Mass Graves Affairs and Protection at the foundation said the grave is the second to be opened at the site since its discovery in 2019.

The grave is the second to be uncovered at the site, said Karim.

"After removing the first layer of soil and the remains appearing clearly, it was discovered that they all belonged to women and children dressed in Kurdish springtime clothes," Karim noted.

He estimated that the victims likely came from Kalar in the northern Sulaimaniyah province.

He added that there were "no less than 100" people buried in the grave.

The Iraqi government estimates that between 1980 and 1990, 1.3 million people disappeared due to Saddam’s repression.

At least 182,000 Kurds were systematically executed by Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath regime in the late 1980s.

Tens of thousands were purportedly taken to Iraq’s southern desert provinces, where they were killed and buried en masse.

The Anfal campaign took place over eight phases, beginning in 1986, reaching its peak in 1988, and culminating in the closing weeks of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88).

"A large number of the victims were executed with live shots to the head fired at short range," Karim explained.

He added that some victims may have been "buried alive" due to the lack of bullet marks on their remains.

After the collapse of the Ba’athist regime in 2003, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) coordinated with Iraqi officials to uncover graves containing bodies of Kurds killed by the former dictator's forces with the help of local witnesses.

Between 2003 and 2018, more than 2,500 bodies were discovered and repatriated to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, said Rebwar Ramazan, a Kurdish official.

Mass graves linked to Daesh are also being uncovered in Iraq. The UN estimated over 200 graves containing around 12,000 bodies.

Iraq has discovered around 289 mass graves since 2006, according to Martyrs Foundation.