Mass graves exhumed in Mosul contain remains of Peshmerga: Officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least 24 bodies have been discovered in two of three mass graves exhumed on the western bank of Mosul, including the remains of several Peshmerga fighters from the Kurdistan Region, officials confirmed to Rudaw.

The mass graves contain victims killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) during the group’s rule over Iraq’s second-largest city between 2014 and 2017.

Officials said several of the victims were found wearing military uniforms, with their eyes covered by red scarves - an indication they were executed while in captivity.

A third mass grave is expected to be unearthed soon.

“There are certainly Peshmerga remains within these graves,” Nineveh Governor Abdulqadir al-Dakhil told Rudaw, adding that the remains will be “officially and honorably” repatriated to the Kurdistan Region.

Yassen Karim, director of Erbil’s forensic institute, told Rudaw that some of the bodies dressed in military clothing also had their hands bound behind their backs.

“Bullet marks are visible on their skulls, indicating they were executed by ISIS in 2015,” Karim said.

He added that samples will be collected for DNA testing to identify the remains, noting that 105 families of missing Peshmerga and other disappeared individuals have already filed reports regarding their loved ones.

Authorities were alerted to the existence of the mass graves through repeated reports from local eyewitnesses, Karim confirmed.

The exhumation process is a joint effort involving Nineveh local authorities, Iraqi federal and Kurdistan Region forensic teams, and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

According to the United Nations, more than 200 mass graves linked to ISIS have been documented across Iraq. Since 2022, over 65 of these sites have been excavated, with more than 3,200 bodies recovered.

Approximately 1,800 Peshmerga fighters were killed, and more than 10,000 were wounded in the war against ISIS, before the group’s territorial defeat in late 2017. Around 50 Peshmerga were taken captive by the extremist group.