At least 200 mass graves left behind ISIL






More than 200 mass graves containing the remains of thousands of victims have been found in areas formerly controlled by ISIS, a United Nations report revealed today.
Both the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) documented 202 grave sites in total, but anticipate more will be discovered in the coming months and years.
The grave sites, which may contain up to 12,000 bodies, were found in the northern and western Iraqi provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Anbar.
ISIS -- the militant group that is also known as ISIL -- seized large areas of Iraq between June 2014 and December 2017 and members declared them as part of a so-called caliphate.
The report notes that the group led "a campaign of widespread violence and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
The graves, the report says, could contain critical forensic material that will not only be able to help identify victims, but also "build an understanding around the scale of abuses
and violations that occurred" and determine if acts amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.