10/20/2025

Witnesses, a Drone and Colored Soil

Here's how Reuters confirmed an Assad plot to move a mass grave

Every patch of earth has a signature and a secret. The signature is its individual combination of geological influences and organic material that create distinct color profiles.

The secret is what lies beneath.

Working with a team of forensic geologists, a Reuters investigation used comparative soil techniques to further corroborate our key finding: Bashar al-Assad’s government transferred thousands of bodies from one mass grave in the Damascus suburb of Qutayfah to a hidden location in Syria's desert. The analysis drew on thousands of drone photographs that were stitched together to create two high-resolution composite images.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Reuters.