Two hundred corpses found near Raqa, Syria

Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Islamic State group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqa, a local official and a war monitor said Wednesday.

The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by IS hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“They were shackled and shot in the head,” said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders.

They were believed to have been killed more than two years ago, he said, adding that his team was not immediately able to identify them.

The grave also included the bodies of three women who were believed to have been stoned to death, Khamees and the Observatory said.

“Their skulls were severely fractured and displayed signs of stoning,” the local official added.

The digger said his team first discovered the mass grave early last month on the southern edges of Raqa, IS’s former Syria capital.

As many as 800 people could be buried there in total, he said.

Via Strait Times / Dunya / AFP