Regards, Ivan
Report: ‘Makeshift morgue’ in Iraq
Hundreds of human remains reported in Az Zubayr
MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
April 5 — British soldiers Saturday discovered hundreds of human remains in a “makeshift morgue” in southern Iraq, Britain’s Press Association reported.
SKULLS AND BUNDLES of bones in strips of military uniforms, dumped in plastic bags and unsealed cardboard coffins, were found in an abandoned Iraqi military base on the outskirts of Az Zubayr, the agency reported. Az Zubayr is about 15 miles west of Basra.
It was impossible to say how long the remains had been there. But the grim discovery will now be investigated by forensic specialists as possible evidence that the Iraqi regime tortured and killed its own soldiers, the report added.
Makeshift coffins reportedly were stacked five deep in a warehouse. In an adjacent building soldiers found catalogues and photographs of the dead. Most had died from gunshot wounds to the head, but others were mutilated beyond recognition, their faces burned and swollen in the faded black and white photographs, according to the Press Association dispatch.
Outside of the building stood what one of the British soldiers described as “a purpose-built shooting gallery.”
A tiled foot-high platform stood in a courtyard, with the brickwork behind it pockmarked with bullet holes. Behind that lay a drainage ditch, according to the PA report.
One of the coffins inside the warehouse contained an identity card written in Arabic, while military webbing and boot soles were visible in the plastic bags.
A British military spokeswoman at war headquarters in Qatar told Reuters that British soldiers “discovered some bodies in a barracks between Basra and Az Zubayr.”
The spokeswoman said she could not confirm reports that there were hundreds of corpses. She told Reuters she did not know details such as the nationalities of the dead nor how long they had been there.
MSNBC.com’s Jennifer Carlile in London and Reuters contributed to this report.
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