Iraq’s health minister has announced that 470 bodies have been exhumed from a mass grave near the city of Tikrit.<br /><br /> Those buried are believed to have been executed by ISIL jihadists in 2014, in what is known as the Speicher massacre. <br /><br /> In June 2014, hundreds of mainly Shi’ite recruits were abducted from the Speicher military base, near Tikrit. They were reportedly lined up and killed one-by-one, then hastily buried or pushed into the nearby Tigris river.<br /><br /> Iraqi military forces have secured Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown. Joined by Shi’ite militiamen, they are now said to be advancing on the Baiji oil refinery – a key ISIL stronghold some 40 kilometres to the north.<br /><br /> Security forces have poured resources into securing the site and have also vowed to retake the western city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province.<br /><br /> Although Iraqi forces have been making steady progress against extremists in the country, Anbar has proven difficult to recapture.<br /><br /> Forces are also said to be advanci
