Tue May 13 04:40:09 UTC 2025: ## FBI and Qatari Forces Uncover Mass Grave in Syria, Potentially Linked to ISIS
**DAMASCUS, Syria (May 13, 2025)** – A joint operation between Qatari internal security forces and the FBI has unearthed a mass grave containing the remains of at least 30 individuals in the Syrian town of Dabiq. The remains are believed to be those of victims of the Islamic State group (ISIS), according to a statement released by Qatar on Monday.
DNA testing is currently underway to identify the victims. While the FBI’s specific targets remain undisclosed, the discovery is significant given the numerous foreign nationals, including aid workers and journalists, who were killed by ISIS during its control of large parts of Syria and Iraq. Notable among the missing are American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, humanitarian worker Kayla Mueller, and Peter Kassig. The search, initiated at the FBI’s request, took place near Syria’s border with Turkey.
The discovery adds to the numerous mass graves found in areas previously controlled by ISIS. The extremist group, which lost most of its territory in 2017 and was officially defeated in 2019, is known to have produced videos of the beheadings of several hostages, including those of Foley, Sotloff, and Kassig. The executioner in these videos was later identified as “Jihadi John,” or Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in a drone strike in 2015.
The ongoing investigation also comes in the wake of the recent ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, following a swift insurgency. The Assad regime’s use of security forces to suppress dissidents for years resulted in numerous disappearances, prompting ongoing searches for missing persons, including American journalist Austin Tice who was abducted in 2012. The UN estimates over 130,000 Syrians disappeared during the country’s 13-year civil war. The investigation into the mass grave in Dabiq is expected to shed further light on ISIS’s atrocities and the fate of numerous missing persons.
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