Forensic Investigation of a Reported Mass Grave, Nasiriyah, Iraq

Summary

1. Dhi Qar 0008 (DQR0008) is a reported mass grave site on the grounds of the former General Security Service (GSS) building, located on the west bank of the Euphrates River, along the southwest margin of the city of An Nasiriyah. On 13 April 2005, during backhoe operations being carried out at the direction of the landowner, the location was discovered to contain the remains of multiple individuals. Local investigators reported to the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT) that 28 remains were excavated from the opened grave and that many additional graves were present on the site. The IHT requested that excavation and analysis be undertaken by the Regime Crimes Liaison Office Iraq Mass Graves Team (RCLO/IMGT).

2. The remains were reburied on the site by local investigators who wished to prevent further excavation at the site by the landowner until the site could be properly investigated by a forensic team. It is likely that the investigators placed the secondary burials over the entire remaining undisturbed portion of the perceived burial area in order to secure this outcome.

3. On 23 November 2005, following a 6 July 2005 site reconnaissance and a second visit from 6 to 8 November, the RCLO/IMGT equipment convoy arrived at the site and began construction of an Archaeological Expeditionary Camp. Members of the excavation team arrived on 29 November and 4 December. The IMGT excavated 28 secondary burials and 41 additional test trenches. No mass grave was found. The 28 individual burials were found to contain a total of 28 bundles of cloth and bone, 27 of which contained human remains. The IMGT exhumed the bundles and returned them to the Forensic Analysis Facility (FAF) for analysis. The site was backfilled on 8 and 9 December 2005.

4. At the RCLO/IMGT FAF, forensic anthropological analyses were conducted of the skeletal remains recovered from DQR0008. The 27 bundles contained a total of 199 human skeletal elements. These elements were the commingled skeletal remains of two individuals. The human remains, while incomplete, were well represented and well preserved. Osteological analyses revealed that both individuals were adult males of similar stature. Anthropological examination of the bones determined that both individuals appeared free of degenerative diseases of the joints, and that there were no indications of pathologies on any of the bone elements. Both individuals did exhibit evidence of dietary stress suffered at an earlier age. Both individuals bore evidence of cranial trauma and one individual exhibited gunshot trauma.

5. A Forensic Pathologist examined photographs, radiographs, and analyses prepared by the Forensic Anthropologists for the two cases from DQR0008. The determination of the Pathologist for cause of death was unspecified perimortem trauma to the head for both cases, and gunshot trauma to the head, pelvis and left leg in one case. In both cases manner of death was identified as homicide.

6. Articles of clothing and other personal effects from DQR0008 were analyzed by the Cultural Objects Laboratory. Following individual analysis of the 28 bundles, 35 torn pieces of cloth were re-associated into five, or possibly six, garments. All clothing was consistent with that worn by a minimum of two adult males. Additional items and personal effects included a traditional male headscarf or smagh, prayer beads (meshbah), a wallet, compact mirror, document fragment, along with torn textile pieces used to wrap and bind the reburied remains. Other objects examined and cataloged by the laboratory were given to the RCLO/IMGT by an informant and were not recovered with the reburied bundles. The final object collected from the site and translated at the laboratory was a tile used as a grave marker.

7. Material from DQR0008 discussed above was documented using a variety of methods designed to ensure the security and integrity of all evidence. Project documentation recorded descriptive information and analyses, and tracked the movement of evidence. Databases were maintained for encrypted digital images and for archiving data from forms. The culmination of all documentation created during the analysis was organized into case files for each individual. These files contain all field documentation, including written evidence pertaining to chain of custody, and transfer of custody from field to laboratory. Internal tracking was maintained in the laboratory to monitor the movement of evidence in the FAF. All laboratory documents were compiled in the case file by subject matter. The sections include archaeology, anthropology, cultural objects, recovered documents, radiography, pathology, and digital imaging. Case files were reviewed by personnel for accuracy throughout the process. File security was paramount. As the final step in this process, the original case files were submitted to the RCLO Secure Evidence Unit in Baghdad, Iraq, on 15 February 2006.

The grave at Dhi Qar 0008 was not a mass grave, though at the time of the field investigation that was not yet known. As is described in this document, information given to the Iraq Mass Graves Team (IMGT) gave reason to believe that there were many individuals buried at the site. In fact, two individuals were recovered distributed over twenty-eight secondary burials.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• USACE (MCX-CMAC) - Mass Graves Investigations, Iraq

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District

Collaborator(s): Regime Crimes Liaison Office Iraq Mass Grave Team (RCLO/IMGT); Forensic Analysis Facility, Baghdad, Iraq

Landowner(s): An Nasiriyah, Iraq

Sponsor(s): Department of Justice Regime Crimes Liaison Office United States Embassy Baghdad, Iraq

Repository(s): Regime Crimes Liaison Office, Secure Evidence Unit, Baghdad, Iraq

Prepared By(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District

Submitted To(s): Department of Justice Regime Crimes Liaison Office United States Embassy Baghdad, Iraq

File Information