The one hundred corpses found near Shiekh Zayed University of Khost province were reburied in the province on Tuesday (February 13).

According to the initial analysis of the bodies, the people died during the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan, which was from 1979 to 1989.

The mass grave was found on Sunday (February 11), and it included the remains of women. 

“Some media claim that the people were killed during the first regime of the Islamic Emirate, but the watch which was found in the mass grave is from 50 years back. In the grave, there also were religious scholars whose hands were tied behind them by their turbans. Some skulls still had bullets in them. Based on the instruction of the provincial office, we reburied the corpses respectfully,” said Bismillah Bilal, the mayor of Khost city.

Residents of Khost province whose relatives went missing during the Soviet Union invasion asked the international courts and human rights watchdogs for justice.

“In 1361 [1982] they [Russians] arrested my father and uncle. My father was released five days later but was suffering from a mental disorder. My father told me that he was no longer looking for his brother because he believed that he had been killed and buried,” said Alif Khan, a Khost resident.

“I exhumed 38 corpses myself from this mass grave. I also found clothes, combs, and other personal belongings with them,” said Zahir Shah, a resident of Khost.

Several such mass graves have been discovered in various provinces over the past two years.