Shafaq News – Nineveh

On Thursday, Iraq’s Forensic Medicine Department handed over the remains of 70 victims killed by ISIS during the Badush massacre to their families in Nineveh province, northern Iraq.

In a statement, the department said the handover was carried out in coordination with the Martyrs Foundation’s Mass Graves and Missing Persons Directorate, with remains delivered through simplified procedures either in the victims’ home provinces or at the department’s headquarters in Baghdad.

Director General Zaid Ali Abbas said work is continuing to complete the identification process despite technical challenges, including severe damage to many bone samples caused by prolonged exposure to harsh environmental conditions. Yasmin Mundhir, head of the mass graves department, said the latest handover represents the fifth batch of identifications linked to the Badush case, bringing the total number of matched remains to 241 out of 605 recovered.

The Badush massacre occurred in June 2014 after ISIS seized Mosul and Badush prison north of the city, where more than 670 detainees were executed on sectarian grounds.

According to a 2018 report by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), at least 202 mass grave sites linked to ISIS crimes have been documented in Nineveh, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar provinces, with UN estimates placing the number of victims buried in these graves between 6,000 and 12,000.

Read more: HRW urges Iraq to intensify mass grave exhumations