Bodies unearthed from mass grave in Iraq

Decomposed bodies were unearthed today in a mass grave in southern Baghdad, Iraqi police and witnesses said.

The remains were found in Baghdad’s mostly Sunni Dora neighbourhood, placed in black plastic bags and transferred to a Shiite mosque nearby, according to a police officer at the mosque.

An press photographer at the mosque counted 33 plastic bags, and police said each bag held the remains of one victim. But the condition of the remains - severely decomposed – meant that it was impossible to verify the number of bodies.

Some of the bags were opened, revealing body parts, bones and scraps of clothing. One of the bags contained a prosthetic leg.