Region | Iraq
Suspected Saddam-era mass grave found in Iraq
An Iraqi official says authorities believe they have found another mass grave from Saddam Hussein's regime in southern Iraq.
- AP
- Published: 17:02 March 18, 2009
Baghdad: An Iraqi official says authorities believe they have found another mass grave from Saddam Hussein's regime in southern Iraq.
The director of the local human rights commission, Mahdi al-Timimi, says local villagers found two skulls, bones and old clothes in the oil-rich Nahran Omar area northeast of Basra.
He told reporters Wednesday that excavation for more remains will start the following day.
Several Saddam-era mass graves have been unearthed since the dictator was ousted following the 2003 US invasion.
The latest discovery has caused a temporary halt to oil exploration in the section being excavated.
The victims are believed to have been killed in 1991, when Saddam's forces brutally crushed a Shiite uprising following the Gulf War.
More from Iraq
More from Region
News Editor's choice
-
6,000 cups and counting: Addicted to that tea
This cafeteria in Al Mamzar attracts thousands of customers daily, including the rich and not so rich
-
Swimming pool horror: Twins hospitalised
Twins rushed to hospital after collapsing from chlorine inhalation at swimming pool in their villa
-
Play your cards right with credit card interest
UAE Central Bank plans to cap interest rates, but are you paying thirty-five per cent now?
