Mass Graves found in Iraq which may have 400 victims of IS

Mass graves have been found near the former jihadist bastion of Hawija in northern Iraq, the graves may have atleast 400 victims of Islamic State group.

The graves were discovered at a military base around three kilometres (two miles) from the city that the jihadists “turned into an execution ground”, Kirkuk governor Rakan said.

“Not less than 400 people were executed,” he said, adding that some were clad in the uniform of prisoners condemned to death while others wore civilian clothing.

IS was forced out of Hawija -- 240 kilometres north of Baghdad -- by Iraqi forces in October in a sweeping offensive that has seen the group lose the vast bulk of territory it seized in 2014.