A week after Iraqi forensic experts began the exhumation of the mass graves of at least 1,700 captured Iraqi soldiers killed by the Islamic State (IS) in the city of Tikrit, the dead remains of at least 164 people have been exhumed, the human rights ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Kamel Amin said that the search teams had discovered the remains of 164 victims in four mass graves during the past week, reported News.com.au.
He said that the documents and mobile phones retrieved from the site indicated that those killed were victims of the infamous Speicher massacre, named after the military base near which at least 1,700 mostly Shiite recruits were abducted by the IS last year.
Amin added that DNA testing was required to confirm their identities.
The remains were found inside former President Saddam Hussein's palace compound in Tikrit, which officials said held 10 mass graves, while three more were located outside it.
