BAGHDAD, July 30 -- Gunmen killed at least 23 Iraqis on Sunday on a highway south of Baghdad, commandeering three minibuses and herding their occupants into nearby palm groves, where they were lined up and shot, according to police and a witness.The ambush occurred about 10 miles south of Baghdad where two major highways intersect near the town of al-Rasheed. The witness, Mohammed Mohan al-Janabi, said at least 15 masked gunmen positioned themselves Sunday morning on both sides of the expressway that links western and southern Iraq. "We knew they wanted to kidnap or kill someone or even hit the American convoys that come to this part of the road, because it is really bumpy and drivers have to slow down" to about 12 mph, said Janabi, 43, a teacher.
| “...the attackers took their identification cards and lined them up against the palm trees and shot them all...” |
| I thought most men in Iraq were armed. Even if the pilgrims didn't bring the family AK on vacation, shouldn't the drivers be packing heat? If a bunch of gunmen try to stop and off-load a bus, that should the time to put the pedal to the metal and whip out a rod. |
The bodies of 23 victims of the ambush have been counted so far, according to a hospital worker in Mahmudiyah, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that there may be more. Other victims may have been taken to hospitals in Baghdad, the source said.
The roads connecting Baghdad with Najaf and two other Shiite holy cities, Karbala and Kut, traverse a region known as the Triangle of Death, where kidnappings, killings and robberies have been rampant for about two years. The area is populated by a volatile mix of Shiites and Sunnis, and sectarian tensions are invariably high, but the violence there has been blamed as much on criminal gangs as on religious or political factions.
| Sounds like a job for an Iraqi police unit to fix once and for all. |