Discovery of Another Mass Grave in Sinjar

Reports indicate that Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq discovered another mass grave in Sinjar on Sunday, November 24. According to the Associated Press, Qasim Samir, the director of Sinjar's intelligence, stated that the first grave contained 78 bodies of elderly women and was found west of the city center. The second mass grave, which holds between 50 to 60 bodies of men, women, and children, was discovered 15 kilometers west of the city. Qasim Samir noted that information regarding the second mass grave is still incomplete due to the area being bombed, raising concerns about the full access of investigative forces to the region. The Islamic State (ISIS) was able to seize vast areas of northern and western Iraq last summer, and the city of Sinjar fell during the group's advance, resulting in thousands of citizens from the Yazidi religious minority being killed or captured by the group. Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces, with U.S. air support, managed to force ISIS fighters to retreat from Sinjar in an operation last week. Qasim Samir stated that those buried in these mass graves were captured during the ISIS takeover of Sinjar and were executed by firing squad before being buried in these graves. The Islamic State considers the Yazidi Kurdish minority as 'infidels' and believes that Yazidi women and girls are spoils of war against infidels. Reports of the enslavement and sexual slavery of Yazidi women and girls emerged a year after the fall of Sinjar. Videos released showing the auctioning of young women in the slave market of Mosul sparked widespread international reactions. Sinjar, located in Iraq's Nineveh province, which Kurds refer to as Shingal, is situated northwest of Iraq. The distance from Sinjar to Mosul, which remains under ISIS control, is 110 kilometers.