‘Crime lab analysing bone samples found in Karak mass grave’

AMMAN — Coroners on Saturday sent bone samples from a mass grave that was found in a cave in Karak in the Kingdom’s south over the weekend to the crime lab in Amman, official sources said.

On Thursday, police and forensic detectives were called to the scene of a mass grave that was exhumed by unknown individuals in a cave in Karak city, 140km south of Amman, a senior medical source said.

“Our coroner established that a minimum of eight people were buried in the exhumed grave,” the source added.

“Foul play is ruled out for the time being and it seems that these people have been buried in there for more than 100 years,” he noted.

“The crime lab in Amman will examine the samples from the mass grave,” the source explained.

A second official said that no items of clothing nor any kind of weapons were found in the mass grave.

“Most probably it is just people being buried in caves because this was the norm in the past,” the second official explained.

Authorities closed the cave and are waiting for lab results, the official added.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi was unavailable to comment on the incident.