Photos: Lonely burials for COVID-19 victims in Iraq's Najaf

A man prays by a grave of a coronavirus victim during a funeral at Wadi Al Salam cemetery in Najaf. Every chapter of Iraq's modern history can be seen in the sprawling cemetery of Wadi Al Salam outside the holy city of Najaf. Its sandy expanse is growing, this time with coronavirus victims.

A special burial ground near the cemetery has been created specifically for COVID-19 victims because such burials have been rejected by Baghdad cemeteries and elsewhere in Iraq.

Men stand next to bodies during funerals of coronavirus victims at Wadi Al Salam cemetery. In Iraq, the virus has been surrounded by stigma, driven by religious beliefs, customs and a deep mistrust of the health care system.

Overseeing the "New Wadi Al Salam," or Valley of Peace, cemetery and helping with the burial procedures are Iraqi Shiite volunteers, militiamen from the Imam Ali Combat Brigade. They had been fighting the Daesh (ISIS) group in Iraq over the past few years. The brigade operates under the umbrella group of mostly Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces.

Corpses of the virus victims arrive at night in body bags driven by ambulances and burial procedures take place at daybreak. In the past four months, more than 3,000 bodies have been buried here, said Sarmad Khalaf Ibrahim, an official with the martyrs affairs department of the PMF.

Ibrahim said the cemetery receives victims from all religions and is not limited to Muslims only. Above: A cleric prays by the grave of coronavirus victim at Wadi Al Salam cemetery.

"We had more than four or five (burials) of the Christian religion, They were buried with special ceremonies, appropriate and befitting them according to their request," Ibrahim said.

Coffins that were used to transport coronavirus victims are burned during funerals at Wadi Al Salam cemetery. Iraq has seen a steady surge in coronavirus cases. The country's Health Ministry has reported more than 100,000 confirmed virus cases, including 4,122 deaths.

Men load bodies of coronavirus victims during a funeral at Wadi Al Salam cemetery. Iraq's centralised health system, largely unchanged since the 1970s, has been worn down by decades of war, sanctions and prolonged unrest since the 2003 US invasion, with little investment from successive governments.

A man disinfects his colleague during funerals of coronavirus victims. The government hospitals in Baghdad are overwhelmed, barely able to handle the increasing numbers.

Najaf's Wadi Al Salam cemetery, 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, is believed to be one of the largest in the world and is the final resting place of choice for pious Shiites because of its proximity to the shrine of Imam Ali, the much revered 7th-century founder of their sect.

It includes those killed in Iraq's long war in the 1980s with Iran, those slain in the sectarian bloodletting that followed the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, as well as Shiite militiamen who fought ISIS in more recent years.

Family members visit the grave of a coronavirus victim at Wadi Al Salam cemetery.

Men take a break during funerals of coronavirus victims at Wadi Al Salam cemetery.

Men stand next to bodies during funerals of coronavirus victims at Wadi Al Salam cemetery.