Corpses of 16 Men Discovered in Northern Iraq
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A search team discovered 16 corpses in an area of northern Iraq formerly controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists, a local official said late on Wednesday.
"The joint excavation crews have discovered 16 bodies of men who were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs," said the district chief Mohammed Mulla Hassan, from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.
"They were found in the Kobachi area, which is part of Saadiya District, and they were executed in the past few months," he added.
A joint search team from the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq and Baghdad's human rights ministry made the discovery, Reuters reported.
Hassan put the blame for the killings on the ISIL terrorists, who controlled the area until late November when they were forced out by Shi'ite volunteer forces fighting on behalf of the Baghdad government.
The ISIL militants made swift advances in northern and western Iraq over the summer, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.
