Iraq exhumes 470 bodies from COB Speicher massacre

The remains of 470 people have been exhumed near Tikrit, Iraq. The health minister said they are believed to have been the victims of the Speicher massacre, which took place in Tikirit last year in June.

Men belonging to or associated with ISIS seized hundreds of soldiers from COB Speicher, located on the outskirts of Tikrit. After the abductees were executed one by one, some bodies were thrown in the Tigris River, and others were buried in different locations that have since been found when the government took Tikrit back from the militants.

The chief doctor at Baghdad’s main morgue, Ziad Ali Abbas, stated that he is getting assistance with the examinations of the large amount of bodies, including from the Red Cross. He said, “These bodies come from four burial sites… One of them was bigger than the others and contained 400.”

Per the Al Arabiya News, “The highest estimate for the number of people killed in one of the worst atrocities ever committed by ISIS stands at 1,700.”

The families of the men who went missing during that time are now waiting for the names of their loved ones to be confirmed. Officials said at a press conference on Thursday that the first list will be released sometime next week.

Footage of the June 2014 massacre can be see at War Documentary Films.