Iraq unearths mass grave northeast of Baghdad

[February 12, 2011]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- A mass grave filled with dozens of bodies has been unearthed in an area northeast of Baghdad that used to be controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq, the government said Saturday.

Kamil Amin, spokesman for the Human Rights Ministry, said the grave was found Friday in an agricultural area south of the city of Baqouba, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad. He estimated the grave was likely dug between 2006 and 2008.

Authorities began finding mass graves across Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, many filled with Shiites and Kurds who opposed former dictator Saddam Hussein. Newer graves, usually dug around 2007, that are found near former al-Qaida strongholds like Baqouba are usually filled with security officials and Shiites.

Amin said dozens of bodies were in the grave near Baqouba, but could not provide a specific figure. A joint committee from the Human Rights Ministry and local officials will open the grave to take DNA from the bodies in hopes of identifying them.

Also Saturday, a roadside bomb killed two civilians on Baghdad's northern outskirts, police and health officials said. Five others were injured, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Violence in Iraq has sharply dropped nationwide since the height of the war years ago, but deadly bombings and shootings still happen almost daily.

[Associated Press; By SAAD ABDUL-KADIR]

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