Mass grave with remains of 40 bodies discovered

A mass grave with the remains of 40 bodies believed to be civilians killed by Islamic State, has been found in Iraq’s western city of Ramadi, a state media reported, citing a local official. “The remains were decomposed and showed signs of gunshot wounds to the skull.

“They belonged to civilians probably executed by Daesh,’’ Amar Nuri, an official in the western province of Anbar told the news website, using an Arabic acronym for the extremist group. However, he did not state when the grave was unearthed. Ramadi, the capital city of Anbar, was recaptured from Islamic State in December 2015. In recent months, Iraq has unearthed mass graves of people thought to have been killed by Islamic State in several areas of the country. In July, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially announced victory over Islamic State in Mosul, the group’s last key stronghold in Iraq, after battling the hard-line militia there for nearly nine months. Report said Islamic State still controls territories in Iraq, including areas south and west of Mosul.