Exhumation of bodies in ISIS mass grave in Syria’s Raqqa complete

RAQQA, Syria ( North Press) –  The Initial Response Team of Raqqa's civilian council finished exhuming bodies from Tel Zidan grave east of Raqqa city on Saturday.

Yasser Khamis, Leader of the Initial Response Team, told North Press that "The number of bodies exhumed from Tel Zidan grave reached 234, most of which died in field executions, of different age groups of men and women."

Most mass graves foundrars from the time in which the Islamic State (ISIS) ruled Raqqa before October 2017.

He added that "none of the bodies were identified because there was no personal evidence of identity of their owners."

The exhumation of Tel Zidan grave started on April 13, after local residents informed the authorities about the grave, according to Khamis.

Khamis pointed out to that they were informed about other five graves in Raqqa's countryside "but we have not yet confirmed the authenticity of them, so we formed a team from the forensic department and members of the Initial Response Team to confirm them."

After confirmation, the Initial Response Team will begin exhuming bodies of grave number 26, according to him.

So far, the number of mass graves found in Raqqa and its countryside have reached 25, from which 6,000 bodies were exhumed and 700 were identified, according to Khamis.

(Reporting by Ahmad Hasan, editing by Lucas Chapman)