Horror unearthed

A local official in Raqqa says more than 500 bodies have so far been exhumed from one of the largest mass graves discovered near the Syrian city, once the capital of the Daesh group’s self-styled caliphate. Raqqa was liberated in a USbacked campaign that ended more than a year ago, but rescuers and recovery teams continue to locate mass graves around the northern city.

More than a month after digging began in the Panorama mass grave, forensic teams continue to lift bodies believed to have been buried there during the four-month campaign to liberate Raqqa. Estimates put the number of bodies buried there at around 1,500. Hammoud Al Shawakh, a local official involved in the work, said Tuesday that 516 bodies have been exhumed.

A few weeks ago, more than 200 mass graves have been uncovered in Iraq in areas formerly controlled by Islamic State militants. The dead include women, children, the elderly and disabled, as well as members of Iraq’s and Syrian armed forces and police, a UN report said. The United Nations has said previously that almost 33,000 civilians were killed by the group in Iraq and Syrian borders, with more than 55,000 injured.