Iraqi Forces Kill 40 Militants in and Near Syria; 20 Found in Mass Grave in Mosul

At least 40 militants were killed in recent violence near the Syrian border, and the bodies of 20 civilians were found in Mosul:

An Iraqi military spokesman told Reuters on Sunday that 36 militants were killed on April 19 during an Iraqi airstrike operation that targeted Islamic State militants across the border in Syria. Four militants were killed on Sunday during operations near the Syrian border at Tal Safuk.

Civil defense teams recovered the bodies of 20 civilians from under Mosul rubble.

In other news:

P.U.K. counter-terrorism units freed three Peshmerga personnel who had been held in captivity by Islamic State militants for over three months.

Fourteen Saddam-era officials are believed to be jailed in deplorable conditions at a prison in Nasariya. A lawyer for some of the detainees, Badia Araf, says that the group will likely need the intervention of human rights organizations to ensure their civil rights, even though most have been condemned to death.

Read more by Margaret Griffis

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.