Raqqa after Isis: Mass grave reveals horror of city’s final battle

In the second part of a series from Syria, visits the site of the largest mass grave in Raqqa, where 80 per cent of those buried are civilians

A satellite image of Panorama Park shows the trenches dug by Isis (DigitalGlobe/Google)

The gravediggers lift the shrouded body delicately from the trench, just as they have done hundreds of times before. The routine is familiar by now, and yet a sombre mood falls over them as they pull back the cloth.

“You can tell the fighters by their clothes,” says forensic assistant Abd Arawf Al Ahmed, breaking the silence. “This is not a fighter.”

The examination doesn’t last long. In under two minutes, Ahmed is able to determine that the deceased was a woman, in her late 20s, and that she was likely brought here from the hospital. The cause of death is unknown.