U.S. and Iraqi forces have discovered the remains of some 22 corpses buried in a mass grave in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a provincial security source said on Tuesday.
The gruesome finding came as a joint U.S. and Iraqi forces were conducting a military operation against the al-Qaida militants since Saturday in the Tharthar area west of Ramadi City, police colonel Jubier Nayf in the province told Xinhua.
The area, where the mass grave found, has long been under control by the al-Qaida terrorist network, the source said, adding that the security forces believe the victims were previously kidnapped and killed by the al-Qaida fighters.
On Sunday, a security source told Xinhua that the Iraqi police and anti-Qaida fighters discovered some 40 corpses buried in a mass grave in the Tharthar area.
The security forces also found a scrapyard of dozens of civilian cars that the forces believe the Qaida militants previously seized, the source from the provincial anti-Qaida Awakening Council said.
It was not immediately clear whether the anti-Qaida discovery announced on Sunday is the same case announced Tuesday by colonel Nayf. Source: Xinhua
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