A month and a half since digging in one of Raqqa’s largest discovered mass graves began, grave diggers continue to exhume bodies, with one official saying that more than 500 bodies have been so far recovered. Raqqa, once the de facto capital of the Islamic State (ISIS), was liberated in October 2017 after four-month US-backed campaign, but recovery teams continue to locate mass graves in and around the city. The Panorama mass grave, named after the neighbourhood where it was found, is one of the largest of nine mass graves discovered so far, and is believed to contain around 1,500 bodies buried there in the last days of the campaign. The city is being undertaken by local groups and first responders amid concerns regarding the preservation of bodies and evidence for possible war crimes trials. Hammoud al-Shawakh, a local official involved in the work, reportedly said that 516 bodies believed to be of ISIS fighters and civilians have so far been exhumed. International human rights groups say they are concerned that local groups are not getting the support they need in terms of forensic expertise and human resources. Sara Kayyali of Human Rights Watch said: “if these bodies are not preserved in the correct way, in the way that’s been established, then it does mean that much of this evidence might be lost when we’re seeking accountability for crimes committed either in the context of the battle or before it”.