Martyrs Foundation: A new phase to find remains of Speicher massacre martyrs

Security

11-06-2022, 21:47

INA - BAGHDAD

Martyrs Foundation revealed on Saturday, the start of a new phase to find the remains of the Speicher massacre martyrs, whose number amounted at least to 500, while the details of the first phase resulted in finding more than 1,200 remains.

The Assistant Director-General of the Department of Affairs and Protection of Mass Graves in the Martyrs Foundation, Amer Jabbar, told Al-Iraqiya News TV as it was followed up by INA, that "based on the Law of Affairs and Protection of Mass Graves No. 5 of 2006 and the subsequent amendment No. 13 of 2015, a national team was formed fom the Department of Forensic and the Department of Mass Graves Affairs in the Martyrs Foundation to search for the remains of Speicher massacre martyrs.

"This team conducted a field inspection of all cemeteries, according to the reports that reach us from the military leaders and the PMF. The specialized teams opened 17 mass graves for the martyrs of the Speicher massacre. The work was done in terms of day and night in security conditions that were unstable at the time, in addition to difficult climatic conditions, which our staff had to work throughout the day to complete these tasks," he included.

He added, "These actions contributed to lifting of the remains of 1,223 martyrs, and these remains were referred to the forensic medicine, as by matching with blood samples of the martyrs' families, the remains of more than a thousand martyrs were handed over."

"161 cases were found from the river and were buried in Wadi al-Salam cemetery in Najaf, and there are 81 others whose of unknown identity," he added.

He pointed out that "for the rest of the remains, we started a second stage of work, using aerial photographs to search for the rest of the cemeteries and find the rest of the remains of the martyrs."