EXCLUSIVE: Mass grave of 80 Yezidi women discovered in Shingal

SHINGAL, Kurdistan Region—A mass grave believed to contain the remains of 80 Yezidi women was discovered by Kurdish forces in Shingal on Saturday a day after the town was retaken from the Islamic State (ISIS).

“Killing these innocent people is one of the crimes ISIS perpetrated against the Yezidi Kurds,” Qasim Simo, head of Shingal security told Rudaw.

The mass grave was found only meters away from the Shingal Technical Institute.

Simo added that all the remains appear to be of women and young girls killed by ISIS militants as they overran the town last year.

Video footage of the mass grave filmed by a Rudaw cameraman shows women’s clothes, long hair and other outfit unique to the Yezidi community.

According to Shingal security chief, the ISIS militants had buried the bodies of the Yezidi women in what used to be the Technical Institute’s fish pond.

Speaking to Rudaw Simo said that they had prior information about several mass graves in the town and the one discovered Saturday is believed to be one of the largest.

Thousands of Yezidi women and children are still believed to be missing.

Shingal security chief said that he believes there are at least 15 mass graves in the area.

“We are all from this area and of one tribe, so we know who was taken to Mosul and Raqqa and who was killed here,” said Simo.

Pointing to the mass grave, Simo said that the age of the victims could range from young girls to women as old as 100.

Women’s shoes, necklaces, purses, banknotes, perfumes and even walking sticks lie everywhere across the mass graves now overgrown with short grass.

“Our job as security is only to locate and protect the graves and leave the rest to the experts,” said Simo.