ICC Note: An unsettling reality has set in as the Associate Press has uncovered at least 72 mass graves in Iraq and Syria left behind by the Islamic State in their onslaught in the region. While we have feared such truths, the graves have sent new waves of terror across the region. The number of dead is still unknown but is predicted to range between 5,200 and 15k.

09/03/2016 Syria/Iraq (Christian Post): An extensive report by The Associated Press has found at least 72 mass graves in Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State terror group is feared to have slaughtered thousands of people in its ongoing genocide of Yazidis, Christians, and all who stand in its way.

AP reported that many more graves are expected to be unearthed as IS is pushed out of territory it held in Iraq and Syria, which could reveal devastating numbers of victims.

Sixteen of the mass graves in Iraq were located in territory that is still too dangerous to excavate, while 17 such graves in Syria have revealed great human rights atrocities, with the bodies of hundreds of members of a single tribe left in one of the graves.

As the U.S. and a small team of international allies continue to fight to free major cities in Iraq and Syria from IS’ control, it will be a while before the total number of dead are made known. The numbers of known victims who have been buried range from 5,200 to more than 15,000.

One Iraqi father, identified as Rasho Qassim, who every day drives by Sinjar mountain where his two sons lie in graves, said families are waiting to properly bury their loved ones.

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