Iraqis find three more mass graves in formerly IS-held Sinjar

Irbil: Iraqi officials say three more mass graves have been found in the northern town of Sinjar, where Kurdish forces backed by US-led airstrikes drove out Islamic State militants earlier this month.

Qasim Simo, the head of security in Sinjar, said today that the graves are believed to contain 80 to 100 bodies. Two graves have been found east of the town and one has been found within the town itself, bringing the total number of mass graves uncovered to five.

IS captured the town in August 2014 and began killing and enslaving members of the Yazidi religious minority, leading thousands of residents to flee into the mountains.

A US-led coalition began carrying out strikes against the extremist group later that month, partly out of concern for their plight.