Mass grave of soldiers found in Iraq

Baghdad, June 23 (IANS/AKI) A mass grave of dozens of Iraqi army soldiers massacred by the Islamic State (IS) was found in Nineveh province, a Kurdish official said on Tuesday.

"On the outskirts of Tal Afar, locals found a mass grave of 70 Iraqi army soldiers on Monday," local broadcaster Rudaw quoted spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul, Saeed Mamuzini, as saying.

Tal Afar is a city and district located around 65 kms west of northern city of Mosul.

On June 11, the bodies of almost 600 victims from one of the worst atrocities committed by IS were exhumed from sites in northern Iraq, according to officials.

The bodies belonged to young air cadets, massacred after the fall of the northern city of Tikrit almost a year ago.

Between 1,000 and 1,700 mostly Shia recruits were executed and buried in mass graves in several locations, according to investigators.

--IANS/AKI

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