Iraqi forces find mass grave at Badush prison

Iraqi paramilitary forces announced on Saturday that they had discovered a mass grave at Badush prison near Mosul containing the remains of hundreds of people killed by Daesh.

Daesh killed up to 600 inmates after seizing Badush in 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Daesh forced them to kneel along a nearby ravine and then shot them with assault rifles. Most of those murdered were said to have been members of Iraq's Shia Muslim majority.

Hashd al Shaabi found "a large mass grave containing the remains of around 500 civilian prisoners in [Badush] prison who were executed by [Daesh] gangs after they controlled the prison during their occupation of Mosul," the military said.

The Iraqi military said that forces from the Hashd al Shaabi — an umbrella group of pro-government forces that are dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias — were among the units that recaptured the prison from the terrorist group.

Daesh abuses at the jail did not end with the murdering its inmates. Iraqi lawmaker Vian Dakhil said in 2014 that the group was holding more than 500 Yazidi women at Badush.