Some 100 decapitated bodies have been discovered on the outskirts of Mosul, said Iraq's army. Baghdad has launched a military campaign to liberate the city from the "Islamic State" militant group.
A member of Iraqi security forces inspects a wreckage of a vehicle destroyed by clashes in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, during an operation to attack "Islamic State" militants in MosulImage: Reuters/T. Al-Sudani
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The Iraqi military said it discovered a mass grave containing approximately 100 headless bodies in the town of Hammam al-Alil, 14 kilometers (8 miles) south of Mosul.
"Iraqi forces found … 100 bodies of citizens with their heads cut off" at an agricultural college, a statement from the armed forces said.
Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led coalition, last month launched a campaign to recapture Mosul from the "Islamic State" militant group.
Joint Military Command spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said the bodies had been reduced to skeletons.
Rasool added that it was not possible to immediately identify whether they were the bodies of soldiers or civilians.
A forensics team from the capital Baghdad will investigate the site on Tuesday.
In June, Iraqi forces discovered a mass grave containing the remains of approximately 400 people near the city of Fallujah during an offensive to recapture the city from the "Islamic State."
Liberating Mosul
The operation to liberate Mosul has brought together an alliance of 100,000 fighters led by the Iraqi army, including the Kurdish peshmerga and Shiite militias backed by US-led airstrikes.
However, the alliance has only gained a small foothold in Mosul since launch its campaign.
Shortly after capturing the city in June 2014, "Islamic State" leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the establishment of a so-called "caliphate" from the pulpit of a historical mosque in the predominantly Sunni Muslim city.
The operation to liberate Mosul from "Islamic State"
What has happened in Mosul since the operation to retake the city from the so-called "Islamic State" started in October?
Image: picture-alliance/Anadolu Agency/H. Baban
Iraqi army discover mass grave
While Iraqi troops advanced further into territory held by the so called “Islamic State” in their campaign to recapture Mosul, they found a mass grave which holds about 100
bodies, many of them decapitated. AP footage shows bones and decomposed bodies dug out of the ground by a bulldozer. This Iraqi federal police officer holds a stuffed animal he found on the site.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Evidence of brutality
The grave, found near the town of Hammam al-Alil near Mosul, proves to be a dark testimony to the „Islamic State’s“ brutality. IS militants have carried out a series of massacres since seizing large areas of southern and central Iraq in 2014. This photo shows a member of the Iraqi security forces inspecting a building that was used as a prison by Islamic State militants in Hammam al-Alil.
Image: Reuters/T. Al-Sudani
Freed from terror
These displaced Iraqi men from the Hammam al-Alil area celebrate their liberation as they return to their homes after the recapture of their village by Iraqi forces from Islamic State.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Al-Rubaye
Oil fields on fire
Oil wells have been set ablaze by IS in an apparent response to the ongoing military offensive to drive the extremist group out of its stronghold. A military commander said more than 5,000 civilians have been evacuated from eastern parts of Mosul and taken to camps. The surprise attack showed that even while under siege, the group could still sow chaos in parts of Iraq far from its base in Mosul.
Image: Reuters/A. Al-Marjani
What is the fight for Mosul all about?
Smoke rises during clashes between Peshmerga forces and IS militants in the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul. Initially used by the "IS" to establish their caliphate and henceforth the key source of prestige and resources, Mosul is also the base for IS’s chemical weapon operation. The ancient Assyrian city also has formed a vital source of tax revenue and forced labor.
Image: Reuters/A. Lashkari
The role of the Iraqi army and its allies
Iraqi special forces take cover as their unit comes under fire from an Islamic State sniper. Together with Kurdish Peshmerga and Shiite militias, Iraqi forces intensified fighting and moved into more densely populated areas of the city without air support from the US-led coalition due to the high-risk of civilian casualties.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Drobnjakovic)
Kurdish Peshmerga
Meanwhile, Kurdish peshmerga forces decided to focus on other strongholds of resistance in northern Iraq and on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, where IS initiated a campaign of violence in response to the advances of the Iraqi army towards Mosul.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Dicenzo
Fleeing from the fighting
The United Nations says over 34,000 people have been displaced from Mosul since the operation began on October 17, with about three quarters settled in camps and the rest in host communities.
