Date: Jun 10, 2019
Source: The Daily Star
Iraq begins examining Yazidi mass graves remains
Associated Press
BAGHDAD: The head of Iraq's forensics administration says his office will begin DNA testing to identify the remains of 141 bodies found in mass graves, believed to contain the Yazidi victims of Daesh’s (ISIS) killing campaign five years ago.

Zaid al-Yousef says the bodies were found in 12 graves located by Yazidi survivors in the Sinjar region in north Iraq.

The Yazidis are a religious minority with unique beliefs that distinguish them from Muslim and Christian worshippers in the region.

Daesh militants, who seized control of north Iraq in 2014, said the Yazidis were "apostates" and killed hundreds of men while enslaving thousands of women and children. The U.N. called it a genocide.

Al-Yousef told The Associated Press Sunday it will take until August to identify the remains.