Mass grave containing 100 beheaded bodies found near Mosul, says Iraqi military

Iraqi coalition forces launched an offensive on the Isis-controlled city on 17 October

Iraqi Federal Police on patrol in Hammam Al-Alil town, south of Mosul, Iraq, 6 November 2016 (EPA)

A mass grave has been discovered near Mosul containing the remains of around 100 beheaded bodies, according to the Iraqi military.

The grave was discovered in the grounds of the School of Agriculture on the outskirts of Hammam al-Alil, according to CNN.

The town has only just been liberated from Isis control, Iraq's Joint Military Command have said.

The statement said: "Gangs of ISIS militants continue to commit crimes against our people."

Hammam al-Alibi is around 30 miles south of Mosul, the last important settlement along the River Tigris before Mosul.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, Isis fighters were informing the town's residents to hand over any boy aged nine and over.

It is thought the boys were to be forced to fight for the terror group.

On 17 October, a large offensive by coalition of Iraqi military and pro-government militia was launched on the Isis-controlled city of Mosul and the surrounding area.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, at least 480 Syrian Isis fighters have died during the offensive including more than 300 child soldiers.

The watchdog said: "This will raise the death toll to at least 480 Syrian fighters killed in the ranks of the Islamic State since the start of the battles in the Mosul area, among them more than 300 child soldiers from the ‘lion cubs of the caliphate."

Isis has been orcibly moving up to 25,000 people into Mosul to act as human shields against Iraqi coalition forces, an UN spokesperson has said.