New remains recovered from Speicher massacre grave in Iraq after 12 years

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Unidentified human remains have been recovered from a mass grave in the Sulaymaniyah area of Iraq's Saladin province, where air force cadets killed by ISIS in 2014 were buried, security sources said. The remains were transferred to a forensic medicine unit for identification, the sources added, noting that excavation work is continuing in coordination with relevant authorities and that the families of the victims will be informed. The Speicher massacre took place on June 12, 2014, after ISIS seized Tikrit and surrounding areas. More than 1,700 military cadets were killed in one of the deadliest single attacks of the conflict. The killings are widely documented as one of the gravest human rights violations in Iraq's modern history, and the Iraqi state has continued investigations and trials of those responsible. Officials said the grave excavation is part of an ongoing effort to locate and identify the missing cadets, a process families have pursued for more than a decade. DNA testing will be conducted once the digging is completed, and the identified remains are expected to be handed over to their relatives. Authorities added that the process is being carried out transparently and that work to hold those responsible accountable will continue. No further details on the number of remains recovered or the timeline for identification were immediately available.