New mass grave containing 50 Yezidi men discovered in Shingal

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two mass graves in Shingal have reportedly been discovered since Saturday, with one found Saturday containing 80 Yezidi women and the other from Sunday containing the remains of 50 Yezidi men, Rudaw has learned.

"Fifty bodies, all men, are in the mass graves," a Peshmerga eyewitness told Rudaw Sunday.

A Rudaw reporter, speaking live on the scene, said "the mass graves are located on the Grozir road, the last Peshmerga-ISIS point."

"The bodies are buried in eight separate graves close to each other," said the reporter.

A Peshmerga soldier told Rudaw that "the corpses of my uncle and a few cousins are contained in these graves."

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

Saturday’s mass grave was found only meters away from the Shingal Technical Institute.

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

According to Simo, ISIS militants buried the bodies of the Yezidi women in what used to be the technical institute’s fish pond.

He added Kurdish forces had prior information about several mass graves in the town and the one discovered Saturday is believed to be one of the largest.