In Sirte, a former stronghold of the deposed Islamic State organization in central Libya, 42 dead were found buried in a mass grave on Sunday, according to the Missing Persons Authority.
The spokesperson for the authority claimed in a statement that an investigation with captured Islamic State fighters had provided a “tip off” that led to the exhumation of the 42 dead at a school site in the city.
To capitalize on the chaos that had gripped the oil-rich country following the 2011 revolution, Islamic State captured Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan tyrant Moammar Gadhafi, between 2015 and 2016.
Eventually, the Islamist group was driven out of the city in December 2016 by forces supporting the old Government of National Accord, which was backed by the U.N. In Libyan jails, there are still hundreds of alleged ex-ISIS combatants detained, many of whom are awaiting trial.
The 42 bodies had all been moved to a local hospital, according to Abdulaziz El Mabrouk, the Missing Persons Authority’s spokesman, and samples of their blood, teeth, and bones had been taken to identify the missing individuals. In May, he noted, 11 more corpses were discovered close to the original location. The causes of death for any of the bodies were not disclosed.
