Iraqi officials have begun the excavation of what is believed to be a mass grave left behind by the Islamic State extremist group during its rampage across the country a decade ago.

Local authorities are working with the judiciary, forensic investigations, Iraq's Martyrs' Foundation , and the directorate of mass graves to carry out the excavation of the site of a sinkhole in al-Khafsa, south of the northern city of Mosul, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported Sunday.

Ahmad Qusay al-Asady, head of the Martyrs Foundation's mass graves excavation department, told The Associated Press that his team began work at Khasfa on Aug. 9 at the request of Nineveh province's Gov. Abdulqadir al-Dakhil.

In this image taken from video provided by Rudaw TV, workers dig out human remains at the

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