More corpses found in Takhar mass grave

TALOQAN (PAN): Corpses of 10 more people were recovered from a mass grave containing dozens of mutilated bodies in the Rostaq district of northern Takhar province, officials said on Saturday.

The mass grave was found late on Thursday by area people who were digging up the Jawzkhana mound in the Sayab village. Ten more corpses were recovered from the grave on Saturday as the result of digging by a delegation.

At least 20 skulls and body bones were found on Thursday, the Rostaq district chief, Mohammad Hussain, told Pajhwok Afghan News. The bodies might have been buried a long time ago, he believed.

A team of the forensic department has been sent to the area in line with a demand from the police headquarters to ascertain the probable date of burial, said the governor’s deputy spokesman, Mustafa Rasuli.

The skulls and corpses might be transferred to Kabul for further investigation, he indicated, explaining the digging was still on.

However, former provincial council member, Ainuddin Rostaqi, believed the bodies were of people killed during the communist-era hostilities. Twenty years ago, he recalled, armed men would drag people out of homes and put them to death.

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