Mass Graves Indicate Shiites Buried Alive

An inspection of the deceased has revealed no gunshot wounds to 20 percent of the bodies, indicating that these people were probably buried alive with their hands bound and eyes covered. The bodies, which included females, were wrapped in plastic bags, sheets and blankets while hundreds of people from surrounding villages and towns looked on in horror. The public has been working with tractors to uncover the graves over the last few days, with some even using their hands to dig.

Hillah governorship official Amir Sumri said they had established the identity 719 of the victims exhumed from the mass graves by means of documents found on the bodies. He added that 1,500 were still unidentified.

Foreign News Services / Istanbul / TURKEY