39 Indians Abducted in Mosul Confirmed Dead: A Flashback to ISIS' Horror Trail in Iraq – Mass Graves and Beheadings

The barbarism of ISIS has ceased to make global headlines as the transnational terror group has been wept away from Iraq, and is on the verge to be totally driven out from neighbouring Syria. The group's terror was recalled in India on Tuesday after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Parliament that 39 Indian workers who were abducted by ISIS in 2014 have been confirmed dead.

On being asked by the press whether the Indian government would ever be able to ensure justice to the bereaved families, the Minister said, "To punish the murderer, we should at least know who he is. ISIS is a poisonous ideology which has ravaged nations apart."

A Flashback to ISIS' Horror Trail in Iraq – Mass Graves and Beheadings

The three-year tenure of ISIS, when it claimed control over swathes of Iraq and Syria, was marked by a horrific trail of executions, beheadings and leaving behind of mass graves.

What is the approximate toll of casualties inflicted by ISIS in Iraq?

According to a report commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council, a total of 18,802 civilians were killed by ISIS in Iraq between January 11, 2014 to December 31, 2015. In the same period, 36,245 civilians were wounded.

Another report released by the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq said the total number of fatalities inflicted by ISIS in Iraq between January 1-December 31, 2016 is at least 6,878. At least 12,388 people were wounded in the same time period.

The numbers compiled should be considered as "absolute minimum", as the deaths due to secondary effects of the conflict, including lack of food, shelter, water, etc could not be accounted, the UNAMI report said.

Over 70 mass graves left behind by ISIS in Mosul

Although the total number of mass graves left behind by ISIS could not be ascertained, at least 70 were found in its erstwhile stronghold Mosul.

The maximum number of dead bodies recovered from the graves were of Yazidi victims. "ISIS showed no mercy towards them as it considered the Yezidis as devil worshippers. While they kept Christians and Shias alive to be used as slaves, the Yezidis in captivity were largely executed," said UK-based anti-terror activist Maajid Nawaz.

Apart from the Yezidi victims, one of the mass graves in Mosul was found with relics of over 300 Iraqi policemen.

Over 4,000 beheadings and other tormentous forms of executions

A Syrian Observatory report published in August 2016 -- by the time the tides were turned against ISIS in Iraq -- a total of 4,414 executions were perpetrated by the group after it established the so-called caliphate in early 2014.

While beheadings were the most common form of executions, showcased more in the ISIS propaganda videos, the group also throwed people down from buildings, shot them in public and set them on fire.

One of the most lethal forms of execution filmed by the ISIS was the charring of a captured Jordanian pilot, after locking him in the cage.

After three years of the ISIS nightmare, the Iraqi regime, backed by the US, succeeded in defeating the terror group. In July 2017, Iraq PM Haider al-Abadi said the "country has been completely freed from the ISIS".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2018 10:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).