Iraqi forensic teams have described how they wept as they began to excavate 12 graves , believed to be the final resting place of as many as 1,700 soldiers killed in cold blood by ISIS last summer . The teams began the gruesome task of uncovering the bodies of the young army recruits of Camp Speicher , slaughtered by the Sunni ISIS militants as they surged across northern Iraq for the 'crime ' of being Shi'ite . The deaths showed Iraqis that Islamic State fighters , who have also attacked ethnic and religious minorities as well as fellow Sunni Muslims opposing them , were a threatening new kind of foe . Scroll down for videos . Distraught : A soldier prays at the site where hundreds of his fellow fighters are thought to have been buried . Discovery : The graves were found last Wednesday on the late Saddam Hussein 's presidential compound . Heartbreaking : The highest estimate for the number of recruits killed in the Speicher massacre is about 1,700 . For almost 10 months , their devastated families have been left wondering what became of their sons and brothers who had been marched through Tikrit , once Saddam Hussein 's stronghold of support . The only clues they had were videos posted by the jihadists on social media sites , showing them being machine gunned down in their hundreds . But now it seems their final resting place may have at last been discovered , after 'dozens ' of ID cards belonging to the army cadets were found at the late dictator 's presidential compound last Wednesday . Today , the first of the 12 mass graves on the banks of the Tigris River began to give up their terrible secrets , days after Islamic State 's fighters were driven from the city by Iraqi forces and Shi'ite paramilitaries . Those who began digging up the corpses today described the scene as 'heartbreaking ' . Khalid al-Atbi , an Iraqi health official working with the forensic team sent to Tikrit , said : 'It was a heartbreaking scene . We could n't prevent ourselves from breaking down in tears . 'What savage barbarian could kill 1,700 persons in cold blood ? ' Horror : Images like this one of the soldiers being led through Tikrit shocked Iraq and the world . Mourning : A soldier prays where the blood of Iraqi soldiers fell at Camp Speicher . Final resting place : Initial investigations reveal these are the bodies of the young cadets , a worker has said . Closure : Some of the people who lost loved ones in the massacre have expressed relief at the discovery . Mr al-Atbi added : 'We dug up the first mass grave site today . 'Until now we found at least 20 bodies . Initial indications show indisputably that they were from the Speicher victims . ' But despite the horrifying scenes uncovered in the compound , families - who often grow angry at Iraq 's political class for failing to provide them proper answers - have expressed releif their loved ones have been found . 'The only positive thing is the victory in Tikrit , ' said Ali Hamad , whose cousin Kamal went missing at Speicher . 'We are happy . At least the families will soon know the fate of their sons and cousins , ' he said . Anger : Families have often grow angry at Iraq 's political class for failing to provide them proper answers . Pictured : A solider prays at the site today . Relief : 'At least the families will soon know the fate of their sons and cousins , ' said one relative .
WARNING : GRAPHIC CONTENT . Graves were identified last June after 'dozens ' of ID cards found nearby . Cards belonged to army recruits massacred by ISIS in cold blood last week . Forensic teams have already dug up 20 bodies and expect to find far more . 'We could n't prevent ourselves from breaking down in tears , ' says worker .