200 corpses found in mass grave in Syria’s Raqa: official

BEIRUT: Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Islamic State group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqa, a local official and a war monitor said Wednesday. The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by IS hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “They were shackled and shot in the head,” said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders. </s> As many as 200 corpses, including of some people believed to have been killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group, have been found in a mass grave near the Syrian city of Raqqa, a local official and a war monitor said.

Yasser al-Khamees, who leads a team of first responders, said on Wednesday the mass grave was discovered early last month on the southern edges of Raqqa, ISIL's former de facto capital.

Among the bodies found, five appeared to belong to middle-aged men dressed in the orange jumpsuits typically worn by the armed group's hostages, al-Khamees and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"They were shackled and shot in the head," he said.

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The bodies of three women, believed to have been stoned to death, were found, the official said, adding that "their skulls were severely fractured".

As many as 800 people could be buried there in total, he said.

The discovery of the grave could help identify even more of the several thousand people whose fates remain unknown, including foreigners imprisoned by ISIL.

The armed group took full control of Raqqa in early 2014 and made it the de facto Syrian capital of its infamous cross-border "caliphate".

US-backed forces removed ISIL from the devastated city in October 2017, leaving the Raqqa Civil Council (RCC) to run it.

The RCC has been retrieving bodies from the rubble across the city that has been left in ruins by the months-long assault to expel the armed group.

"This grave is part of a series of graves located in the area of the Vanguard camp where more than 3,500 bodies have been recovered over the past months," an unnamed official told the DPA news agency.

The grave, uncovered in February and the largest known to date, is at a site where ISIL is believed to have trained children to fight.

Several other mass graves have already been identified around the city, including one in the neighbourhood known as "Panorama" from which more than 900 bodies were exhumed. </s> Another mass grave containing the bodies of those believed to have been executed by the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia) has been discovered near the Syrian city of Raqqa, Jamal Issa, the director of Raqqa Health Department, said on Wednesday

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2019) Another mass grave containing the bodies of those believed to have been executed by the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia ) has been discovered near the Syrian city of Raqqa, Jamal Issa, the director of Raqqa Health Department, said on Wednesday.

"A mass grave with dozens of bodies, including those of people executed by IS insurgents during their rein in the city, has been discovered near Al-Fukheikha village at the southern entrance to Raqqa," Issa was quoted as saying by al-Watan newspaper.

This is not the first discovery of mass graves in the former IS stronghold.

The largest one with bodies of some 1,400 people massacred by the terrorists was found in the city's Panorama district in October.

Raqqa was seized by the Syrian opposition forces in 2013 and then captured by the IS, which then proclaimed the city its de facto capital. In 2016, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US-led coalition, launched a campaign to liberate the city. The operation culminated in the 2017 Battle of Raqqa, which eventually brought Raqqa under the SDF's control. </s> BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Islamic State group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqqa, a local official and a war monitor said Wednesday.

The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by IS hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“They were shackled and shot in the head,” said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders.

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They were believed to have been killed more than two years ago, he said, adding that his team was not immediately able to identify them.

The grave also included the bodies of three women who were believed to have been stoned to death, Khamees and the Observatory said.

“Their skulls were severely fractured and displayed signs of stoning,” the local official added.

The digger said his team first discovered the mass grave early last month on the southern edges of Raqqa, IS’s former Syria capital.

As many as 800 people could be buried there in total, he said.

Its discovery could help identify even more of the several thousand people whose fates remain unknown, including foreigners imprisoned by IS.

IS took full control of the city of Raqqa in early 2014 and made it the de facto Syrian capital of its infamous self-styled cross-border “caliphate.”

US-backed forces ousted IS from the devastated city in October 2017, leaving the Raqqa Civil Council (RCC) to run it.

The RCC has been retrieving bodies from the rubble across Raqqa, left in ruins by the months-long assault to oust IS.

In February, an exhumation team uncovered a mass grave holding an estimated 3,500 people in Raqqa’s Al-Fukheikha agricultural suburb — the largest to date.

Several other mass graves have already been identified around the city, including one in the neighborhood known as “Panorama,” from which more than 900 bodies were exhumed. </s> The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday that a new mass grave containing 200 bodies has been found in Raqqa, the former stronghold of Daesh in Syria.

The group said the grave included the bodies of three women who were likely to have been stoned to death and at least five middle aged men dressed in orange jumpsuits; typically worn by Daesh hostages.

In May, the UK-based group announced that a mass grave containing nearly 1,700 bodies was uncovered inside a house controlled by a group in the town of Al-Shafa, east of Deir Ez-Zor.

The observatory said at the time that the large number of corpses raises questions whether the victims were killed in air strikes launched by the international coalition as part of its war on Daesh.

The Syrian Observatory called for the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the mass graves in Raqqa and identify those responsible for the deaths. </s> Delil Suleiman, AFP | Members of Raqqa Civil Council (RCC)'s first responders team working at the site of a mass grave in the al-Fukheikha agricultural suburb where in February 2019 an exhumation team uncovered an estimated 3,500 bodies.

Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Islamic State(IS) group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqqa, a local official and a war monitor said Wednesday.

The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by IS group hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"They were shackled and shot in the head," said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders.

They were believed to have been killed more than two years ago, he said, adding that his team was not immediately able to identify them.

The grave also included the bodies of three women who were believed to have been stoned to death, Khamees and the Observatory said.

"Their skulls were severely fractured and displayed signs of stoning," the local official added.

The digger said his team first discovered the mass grave early last month on the southern edges of Raqqa, the IS group's former so-called "capital" in Syria.

As many as 800 people could be buried there in total, he said.

Its discovery could help identify even more of the several thousand people whose fates remain unknown, including foreigners imprisoned by the IS group.

The IS group took full control of the city of Raqqa in early 2014 and made it the de facto Syrian capital of its infamous cross-border so-called "caliphate".

US-backed forces ousted the IS group from the devastated city in October 2017, leaving the Raqqa Civil Council (RCC) to run it.

>> Read more: 'See My Raqqa': Rescuing the Syrian city's memory after the IS group occupation

The RCC has been retrieving bodies from the rubble across Raqqa, left in ruins by the months-long assault to oust the IS group.

In February, an exhumation team uncovered a mass grave holding an estimated 3,500 people in Raqqa's Al-Fukheikha agricultural suburb -- the largest to date.

Several other mass graves have already been identified around the city, including one in the neighbourhood known as "Panorama," from which more than 900 bodies were exhumed. </s> BEIRUT: Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Islamic State group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqa, a local official and a war monitor said on Wednesday.

The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by IS hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"They were shackled and shot in the head," said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders. They were believed to have been killed more than two years ago, he said, adding that his team was not immediately able to identify them.

The grave also included the bodies of three women who were believed to have been stoned to death, Khamees and the Observatory said. "Their skulls were severely fractured and displayed signs of stoning," the local official added.

The digger said his team first discovered the mass grave early last month on the southern edges of Raqa, IS’s former Syria capital. As many as 800 people could be buried there in total, he said.

Its discovery could help identify even more of the several thousand people whose fates remain unknown, including foreigners imprisoned by IS. IS took full control of the city of Raqa in early 2014 and made it the de facto Syrian capital of its infamous cross-border "caliphate". US-backed forces ousted IS from the devastated city in October 2017, leaving the Raqa Civil Council (RCC) to run it. </s> DAMASCUS (DPA) - At least 190 bodies have been recovered from a mass grave in northern Syria where Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants once had their key stronghold in the country, a local official said on Wednesday (July 3).

The grave was found near the city of Raqqa, ISIS's erstwhile de facto capital in Syria.

Dozens of bodies were found in the grave of men wearing orange uniforms believed to have been killed execution-style by militants, the official at the Raqqa civil council told dpa.

The grave also contained bodies of women stoned to death and ISIS fighters, the official added on condition of anonymity.

The bodies were retrieved last month, the official said without further details.

"This grave is part of a series of graves located in the area of the Vanguard Camp where more than 3,500 bodies have been recovered over the past months," he said.

The Vanguard Camp, about 5km south-west of Raqqa, was a site where ISIS trained children in fighting.

In October 2017, a Syrian Kurd-led militia, supported by the United States, captured Raqqa from ISIS in a major blow to the radical group. </s> Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Daesh terrorist group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqqa, a local official and a war monitor said Wednesday.

The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"They were shackled and shot in the head," said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders.

They were believed to have been killed more than two years ago, he said, adding that his team was not immediately able to identify them.

The grave also included the bodies of three women who were believed to have been stoned to death, Khamees and the Observatory said.

"Their skulls were severely fractured and displayed signs of stoning," the local official added.

The digger said his team first discovered the mass grave early last month on the southern edges of Raqqa, Daesh's former de-facto capital.

As many as 800 people could be buried there in total, he said.

Its discovery could help identify even more of the several thousand people whose fates remain unknown, including foreigners imprisoned by Daesh.

Daesh took full control of the city of Raqqa in early 2014. U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by the PKK terrorist group's Syrian offshoot People's Protection Units (YPG), captured the devastated city in October 2017 after a four-month campaign, leaving the YPG-linked Raqqa Civil Council (RCC) to run it.

The RCC has been retrieving bodies from the rubble across Raqqa, left in ruins by the months-long assault to oust Daesh.

In February, an exhumation team uncovered a mass grave holding an estimated 3,500 people in Raqa's Al-Fukheikha agricultural suburb -- the largest to date.

Several other mass graves have already been identified around the city, including one in the neighborhood known as "Panorama," from which more than 900 bodies were exhumed.

The U.N estimates that more than 10,000 buildings were destroyed or 80 percent of the city in the clashes. Amnesty International and London-based watchdog group Airwars announced in April that t he U.S.-led coalition killed more than 1,600 civilians in Raqqa during months of bombardment that liberated it from the Daesh terror group, far more than the number announced earlier by the U.S.-led coalition.
A mass grave containing over 200 bodies is discovered in Raqqa, Syria. The victims, who were shackled and shot in the head, are believed to have been killed by ISIL militants.