313 bodies found from a mass grave in Raqqa

The atrocities were committed by the IS against residents of the city including foreign journalists and aid workers.

Raqqa: Over 313 bodies of men, women and children were recovered in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which were believed to have been killed or died during the rule of ISIS over the city. Raqqa was once the stronghold of IS.

The city and its surroundings were the site of atrocities committed by the IS against residents of the city, as well as the killings of foreign journalists and aid workers.

In 2014, the US-backed Syrian forces retook Raqqa from IS after four years of gruesome battles and an air campaign that killed thousands and left the city in ruins. Since then, the body known as the Civil Council of Raqqa has been working to uncover mass graves in and around the city, trying to document the dead and preserve remains for identification later on.

On its part, the Civil Council of Raqqa has unearthed 4,760 bodies from January 2018 till today. The work in the recent mass grave began in June.

According to forensic worker Assad Mohammed, the workers were finding an average of 10 to 13 bodies daily.

The unearthed bodies are being reburied in newer land for future identification.