Iraq starts mass grave excavation from ISIL (ISIS) carnage south of Mosul

Excavations at the al-Khasfa site will initially be limited to gathering visible human remains and surface evidence, while preparing for a full exhumation that will require international support [Zaid Al-Obeidi/AFP]

Iraqi officials have begun the excavation of what is believed to be a mass grave left behind by ISIL (ISIS) during its years of carnage exacted upon the civilian population after it seized large swaths of the nation from 2014 onwards, until being vanquished three years later.

Local authorities were working alongside the judiciary, forensic investigators, the Iraqi Martyrs Foundation and the directorate of mass graves to carry out the excavation in al-Khafsa, south of the northern city of Mosul, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported on Sunday.