Iraqi forces discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 400 people, most of them soldiers, executed by the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) during its year long occupation of al-Saqlawiya to the north of Fallujah, mayor Jassim al-Mohammadi said Monday (June 6th).
"The grave was found by chance in al-Shohadaa area in central al-Saqlawiya at a large public square as the security forces cleared and cleaned the town before allowing residents to return," he told Al-Shorfa.
"Four hundred bodies were tallied until a late hour Sunday, and search is still underway as there are indications that more will be found at a large ditch where the victims’ bodies were buried," he said.
The victims were shot dead execution-style by ISIL about a year ago, he added.
"The mass grave also includes civilians executed by ISIL on various charges such as spying or breaking the group's rules," Rajeh Barakat, a member of the provincial council of Anbar, told AFP.
