2,650 dead bodies pulled from Iraq’s war-battered Mosul

By Mohamed Walid and Serhad Shakir

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) - Hundreds of dead bodies have been extracted from Mosul since the city’s recapture from Daesh two months ago, health officials in the Nineveh province (of which Mosul serves as regional capital) said Monday.

“Local medical facilities have taken in some 2,650 dead bodies,” Laith Hababah, head of the Nineveh Health Department, told Anadolu Agency.

Most of the bodies, which the Health Department has officially documented, were pulled out from under the rubble of destroyed buildings in western Mosul’s Old City district.

Since July 10, Iraqi civil defense personnel have been extracting dead bodies from various districts of Mosul, especially the war-battered city’s western side.

In July, the Iraqi army -- with U.S. coalition air support -- recaptured Mosul from Daesh following a nine-month campaign that featured frequent bombardments of residential parts of the city.

Until now, it remains unclear exactly how many of the city’s civilian residents were killed in the fighting.