Iraq exhumes remains of dozens of soldiers in mass graves in Tikrit

The Iraqi authorities on Tuesday exhumed remains of over 40 bodies believed to be for soldiers executed by the Islamic State (IS) militants when they seized the city of Tikrit, the capital of Salahudin province, a provincial security source said.

"The authorities, so far, discovered 12 mass graves in the complex of the presidential palaces of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein," Colonel Ali al-Jubouri told Xinhua.

"The forensic teams unearthed over 40 bodies, many were in military uniforms and their hands were tied to their backs," al-Jubouri said, adding that a number of military identity cards were found in the mass grave sites.

The bodies were believed to be part of 1,700 soldiers who walked out of an airbase, known as Camp Speicher north of Tikrit, but were abducted and then killed by the IS militants and some Sunni tribesmen.

In June last year, armed Sunni insurgents, spearheaded by the IS militant group, launched a surprise offensive on Iraqi security forces who abandoned their posts and military equipment. The group captured a large part of the country's northern and western territories, including the northern part of Salahudin province.

The mass graves were discovered after the Iraqi security forces retook control of Tikrit last week, when some 30,000 security members backed by allied Shiite and Sunni militias and covered by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft launched Iraq's biggest offensive so far against the IS militant group. Endit