A shocking investigation has uncovered the true scale and horror of ISIS’s bloody and merciless rampage across Iraq and Syria.
The Associated Press (AP) has documented and mapped 72 mass graves, the most comprehensive survey of its type carried out, with many more expected to be uncovered as ISIS’s territory shrinks.
In Syria alone, AP has obtained locations for 17 mass graves, including one with the bodies of hundreds of members of a single tribe all but exterminated when ISIS extremists took over their region.
For at least 16 of the Iraqi graves, most in territory too dangerous to excavate, officials dare not even guess the number of dead.
In others, the estimates are based on memories of traumatised survivors, ISIS propaganda and what can be gleaned from a cursory look at the earth.