| a group calling itself the al-Furqan Brigade, tortured the driver, breaking his arm and sending him off with a ransom demand to their relatives |
Twelve Iraqi National Guards were abducted and executed by militants dressed as policemen while traveling home to Najaf, an official with a leading Shiite party said Sunday. The 12 men were kidnapped near Latifiyah, an area of frequent violence bout 20 miles south of Baghdad, said Abu Ali al-Najafi from the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known by its acronym SCIRI. They were heading home to Najaf on Thursday after a visit to Baghdad when the kidnappers, disguised as policemen, stopped their convoy, said al-Najaf, speaking from SCIRI offices in Najaf. The 12 were seized along with the convoy's driver, though a 13th guardsman escaped. The assailants, who later identified themselves as members of a group calling itself the al-Furqan Brigade, tortured the driver, breaking his arm and sending him off with a ransom demand to their relatives, for payment of $1,000 for each "headless body of their dear one," Al-Najafi said. The party, known by its acronym, SCIRI, is one of the largest Shiite parties in Iraq. |