Monday, November 20, 2006
U.S. forces raid mosque in Sadr City
Security
U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq today conducted a raid in the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Al-Sadr City, the second such raid there in two days. The U.S. military says Iraqi forces searched and "slightly damaged" a mosque in Al-Sadr City. They did not make any arrests. U.S. officials say the mosque was used by militants responsible for kidnapping, torturing, and killing Iraqi civilians and soldiers. Authorities in southern Baghdad say they found the bodies of 14 Sunni Arabs early today who were kidnapped and killed by men disguised as police. Most of the victims were taken hostage on the night of November 19. Also Monday, the bodies of 14 Sunni Arabs kidnapped from their Baghdad homes by men disguised as policemen were found in the capital, authorities said. The victims, taken hostage in the mostly Sunni southern Baghdad area of Dora Sunday night, were found lying on a street in nearby Oreij, a mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhood of the capital, said police 1st Lt. Ahmed Hamid. Ranging in age from 20 to 45, the men had been tortured and handcuffed, Hamid said.
