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| Iraq |
| Mass grave with 222 bodies found in Iraq |
| 2011-07-11 |
| [Emirates 24/7] The remains of 222 people, probably Kurds killed under Iraq's former regime in 1987, were extracted from a mass grave south of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... , the authorities said on Sunday. "We have found 222 bodies and we have transferred them to the morgue in the province of Najaf," said Karim Ziad, the official in charge of mass graves at the Department of Human Rights. Iraqi authorities announced on Wednesday they had discovered another mass grave with 900 corpses in the Shanafiyah region near the city of Diwaniyah. Ziad said several factors suggested that the victims, most with bullet wounds, were Kurds killed during the regime of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. "The mass graves are made up of six trenches, and we have done (work) on only three of them," he said, suggesting the number of victims could be much higher. Dakhil Saihoud, provincial head of the Justice and Accountability Commission which investigates issues relating to the former regime, said he was informed there were 17 trenches at the site. "It is possible there are hundreds of bodies in there," he told AFP. "The mass graves are crimes against humanity committed in 1987," said Human Rights Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. "This is one of 84 sites listed at our ministry, and we have completed work on 34 of them," he said. Widad Hatem, director of the Committee for Human Rights in Diwaniyah's provincial council, said women and kiddies were among the victims. Maghoul Abdullah, an old man of more than 90, said he remembered people being rounded up in town. "The security forces of the old regime evacuated the area and forced us to leave the place. After a few days, large trucks took away people at night, and we even clearly heard their cries," he said. During Iraq's 1980-1988 war with Iran, deserters were executed and the Sunni Arab dictator intensified a crackdown on Shiites suspected of sympathising with Iraq's predominantly Shiite neighbour. Kurds were persecuted because they were the main opposition to Saddam. The number of people missing as a result of atrocities committed by Saddam, who came to power in 1979, is estimated at anywhere between 300,000 and 1.3 million, according to various sources. Human rights groups believe there are hundreds of mass graves in Iraq of people killed during Saddam's rule. Shortly after the 2003 invasion, the US-led coalition said there were 263 mass reported graves of people executed in Iraq under Saddam, including 40 containing evidence of systematic killings. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 But to his credit, Obama alone GOT Bin Laden. Of course he did - after all he did lead Seal Team six personally. at least in his dreams. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2011-07-11 23:20 |
| #3 but Saddam was a nice guy, remember he had a koran written in his blood(most likely someones elses blood) there was no reason too invade just. We should have sit back and spent trillions on monitoring his ass for the next 20 too 30 years before he and his clan where through. sarcasm intended |
| Posted by: chris 2011-07-11 22:52 |
| #2 And , of course, its all Bush's fault. Do you suppose that history will decide the United States did the right thing concerning Saddam, after all? And dont look now, but Kerry and Edwards are both maggots, and they were the best the Donks had. And the United States of America despite a bit of serious fumbling and an occupation of the Moslem dirthole( arent they all ) DID WIN THE WAR. Who are going to thank for that? Michael Moore? Or all the Democrats with their tails in the air? And the American Media who covered all the blood for the money, and rolled around in the carnage to make some cash out of it? But to his credit, Obama alone GOT Bin Laden. ( didnt he?). Oh and DOUBLE that number found in the Mass Graves. They havent found all the bodies in the other trenches yet. How good is your memory of the Democratic Party squittering and crawling with cowardice during those years? Never happened, right? |
| Posted by: de Medici 2011-07-11 04:28 |
| #1 It seems that you could scratch the soil Damn near anywhere and discover a mass Grave, Or am I seeing things that aren't there? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-07-11 02:08 |