Work on Islamic State mass grave begins

Iraqi authorities have begun excavating the site of a mass grave believed to contain thousands of victims of the Islamic State (IS) group near Mosul city, the project's director told AFP on Sunday.

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The first phase, which was launched on Aug 10, includes surface-level excavation at the Khasfa site, director Ahmed al-Assadi said.

An AFP correspondent visiting the site in northern Iraq on Sunday said the team unearthed human skulls buried in the sand.

Khasfa is located near Mosul, where IS had established the capital of their self-declared "caliphate" before being defeated in Iraq in late 2017.