The bodies of more than 3,500 people who were killed at the hands of Daesh have been exhumed in Syria’s northern city of Raqqah, the Takfiri terrorist group’s former bastion.
According to reports on Thursday, the burial site is located in the al-Fukheikha suburb and so far the remains of 120 people have been unearthed from the mass grave at a farmland outside Raqqah.
“We’ve heard accounts from residents of al-Fukheikha that they would see people gathering with someone in an orange suit,” Turki al-Ali, who is supervising the recovery effort, said.
The terror group would typically dress its captives in orange suits when they executed them.
“There are some 2,500-3,000 bodies estimated there, plus between 900 and 1,100 bodies in the individual graves, so at least 3,500 total,” Asaad Mohammad, a forensic assistant at the site, said.
He added that the burial site is “the largest grave since Daesh came to Raqqah” in 2014 and that the identity of the victims remains unknown.
Daesh established its de facto capital in Raqqah in 2014 after it overran territories in Syria and Iraq. The group committed some of the most heinous crimes against civilians and military forces, which shocked the world.
Eight more mass graves have been already dug up around Raqqah where recovery efforts began in January 2018.