Tuesday, October 10, 2006
60 mutilated bodies found, arrests made in police poisoning
Security
Authorities found the mutilated bodies of 60 men in Baghdad in the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning, likely the latest victims of the sectarian death squads that roam the capital. The bullet-riddled bodies all had their hands and feet bound and showed signs of torture - hallmarks of death-squad killings, police 1st Lt. Mohamed Khayon said. The victims were from 20 to 50 years old, and their bodies had been dumped in several neighborhoods. A car bomb exploded in a market in a Shiite district, killing at least 10 people and wounding 23, an attack likely carried out by Sunni insurgents.
Iraqi authorities arrested the head of the mess hall at a base where up to 400 mainly Shiite policemen suffered food poisoning during a Ramadan meal amid concerns it may have been the first known attempt by insurgents to carry out a mass poisoning against police. A military spokesman, Brig. Qassim al-Moussawi, said the poisoning likely was intentional, though he did not rule out that spoiled food was used in the meal as part of a scheme by contractors or officers to skim off money from food funds. Also detained for questioning was the Iraqi contractor hired to provide food for the base and a number of other people, al-Moussawi said, without providing details. Authorities were still investigating what substance may have been used in the case of a poisoning.
