1 000 bodies found in Iraq

2006-04-06 13:51

Kirkuk - Eight mass graves containing around 1 000 bodies have been found near Iraq's northern oil hub of Kirkuk, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) announced on Thursday.

"Most of the victims were Kurds, as well as some Christians and Turcoman, who lived in these two majority Kurdish villages," the PUK said in a statement.

Also included among the victims were Shi'ites killed during the 1991 repression of an uprising by former dictator Saddam Hussein, it said.

The graves were found in the villages of Al-Asri and Tubazawa, west of Kirkuk.

Numerous mass graves of Kurds in the north and Shi'ites in the south have been discovered since the fall of Saddam's regime in 2003. United States officials believe there could be at least 300 000 bodies buried across Iraq.

On Tuesday, a local religious organisation said two mass graves dating from the time of Saddam had been found near the southern city of Nasiriyah.

The court trying Saddam over the killing of Shi'ites in the 1980s announced on Tuesday that he would face genocide charges over the Anfal campaign against Kurds that left around 180 000 people dead.

Similar charges are also being laid against six co-defendants including Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali.

- AFP