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18 Sunnis kidnapped in Iraq later found shot dead
[BUSINESSWEEK] Men dressed as Iraqi soldiers abducted 18 Sunnis, whose bullet-ridden corpses turned up in farmland just south of Baghdad, authorities said Friday, a grim reminder of the worst days of sectarian killings that plagued the country after the U.S. invasion.Police said officers later discovered the beheaded corpses of three men in Baghdad's eastern suburbs, their hands tied behind their backs, part of attacks that killed 25 others Friday. The apparently targeted killings come after similar killings earlier this week, raising fears that the country, already embroiled in months of rising violence, could see the return of Shiite and Sunni Muslim death squads roaming the streets. "These recent killings show that the fears by many Iraqis that their country is heading to darker days similar to 2006-2007 are true and that the wounds of the past are not healed yet," Baghdad-based political analyst Hadi Jalo said. "If the government does not take effective measures to stop the sectarian tension and security deterioration, I think that we should expect more such killings." Authorities found the bodies early Friday in farmland near the Sunni town of Mishahda, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Baghdad. Gunmen in four cars abducted the men, who included two army officers, a local Sunni tribal sheik, the sheik's son and Mishahda's mayor, from their homes late Thursday. Police later said it appeared the men were killed by gunshot wounds to the head. A Baghdad morgue official confirmed receiving the 18 bodies. He said that all the relatives who came forward to claim the bodies were Sunnis. It wasn't clear who rounded up and killed the men. Shiite militiamen could be seeking revenge for the ongoing Sunni insurgent attacks against Shiite neighborhoods. Militants with al-Qaida's local branch targets Sunnis in attacks as well and once took control of a town west of Baghdad two years ago by dressing as police officers and driving around in real squad cars. It also could be a personal vendetta. Posted by: Fred 2013-11-30 |
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