Iraqi officials say they have found a mass grave northeast of Baghdad in an area that once was controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq.
The police chief in Diyala province told reporters that 153 bodies were found in a grave about five kilometers south of Baquba.
He said the bodies seemed to have been buried between 2005 and 2008. During that time the area was under the control of an al-Qaida linked armed group known as the Islamic State of Iraq.
The bodies were those of civilians, policemen, and soldiers.
An Iraqi Human Rights Ministry official confirmed the find to the Associated Press, but could not confirm the number of bodies.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
