The families of Turkmen who went missing during Daesh's control of northern Iraq from 2014 to 2017 are anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones as Iraqi authorities continue excavation efforts at a notorious site known as the 'Well of Hell.'

Excavation began near Tal Afar in Mosul, northern Iraq, uncovering a mass grave believed to contain the remains of Turkmen victims, presumed to have been killed by Daesh during their reign of terror from 2014 to 2017.

Thousands of Iraqi Turkmen families, missing their loved ones for years, are anxiously awaiting the retrieval of their relatives’ bodies from this infamous site.

Located about ten kilometers south of Tal Afar, the well, locally named “Allov Anter,” plunges over 100 meters deep and was infamously dubbed the “Well of Hell” by Daesh. After seizing the region on June 9, 2014, Daesh reportedly executed thousands and disposed of their bodies in this well.

The Iraqi government, driven by the initiative of Turkmen institutions, associations, and civil society organizations, has now opened this mass grave, untouched for ten years. The retrieval process has begun, uncovering the remains of women and children among the victims.

According to information from civil society organizations, Tal Afar District Governor Halil Muhsin estimates there are over 1,500 bodies in the well. Muhsin noted that excavation efforts have been ongoing for about a month and a half, with many bodies still presumed to be in the mass grave. Based on research and applications received, he highlighted that the fate of more than 1,300 Turkmen in Tal Afar remains unknown.

So far, over 200 sets of remains have been retrieved and sent to the Iraqi Ministry of Health for DNA testing in the month and a half since the excavation began.