Syria troops find mass grave west of Raqa

DAMASCUS, Feb 16 (AFP): Syrian troops have uncovered a mass grave containing the remains of more than 30 people killed by the Islamic State group in Raqa province, state media reported on Friday.

It is the third such find by the army in recent months in territory formerly held by the jihadists west of their onetime bastion.

"In cooperation with specialists, an army unit came across a mass grave of civilians and combatants executed by the Islamic State group in western parts of Raqa province," state news agency SANA reported.

A member of the civil defence told the news agency that a total of 34 bodies had been exhumed from the grave near the town of Rathman.

The remains were transported to the military hospital in neighbouring Aleppo province to be identified.

Government troops control the southwest of Raqa province, but the rest of it, including the provincial capital, is held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who overran the jihadists' infamous bastion in October.