Thursday, December 29, 2005

Iraqi Shias abducted and killed - A Sign of Civil War?

I'm still undecided, but between this and the reaction to the UN finding no tampering in the election, I'm wondering if things are abut to explode.

About 12 Shia Muslims have been killed by insurgents who broke into their homes south of Baghdad, officials say.
The victims were reported to be members of the same extended family, living in the mainly Sunni town of Latifiya, about 30km (20 miles) south of Baghdad.

"Gunmen broke into three houses in Latifiya at dawn on Thursday," Iraqi Army Capt Ibrahim Abdullah said.

"[They] took 12 males aged between 20 to 40 and put them into a minivan... and machine gunned them," he told AP.

There were differing reports of the incident and who was involved.

The AFP news agency said 14 people were killed, some of them women.

Reuters said the killings took place inside a house, where intruders slit the throats of 11 men and women.

Police said the family had been warned by insurgents to move out of the largely Sunni district, but had not done so, Reuters reported.

Also on Thursday, a suicide bomber killed four police officers at a checkpoint near the interior ministry in Baghdad, officials said.

The attacker was dressed in a police uniform and blew himself up as police cars were entering the ministry, a police source said.

Posted by crimnos @ 11:05 AM