Thursday, March 29, 2007
Al-Maliki orders investigation into Tal Afar sectarian violence
Security
(VOI) – The Iraqi Prime Minister has ordered an investigation committee to be formed to punish elements believed to have been involved in attacks on citizens after the recent bomb attacks in the city, the state-run al-Iraqiya satellite channel said on Wednesday. Demonstrations were staged earlier in Talafar streets, during which the protesters called for the city’s mayor and chief of police to be dismissed.
A total of sixty executed bodies arrived at the Talafar public hospital on Wednesday, the director of the hospital said. Dr. Saleh al-Qdou told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), “The victims are men, women and children who were executed late Tuesday." Meanwhile, eyewitnesses confirmed that armed militiamen with police wearing civilian clothes had gone to the streets and carried out executions.
For his part, Turkuman front official in Ninewa province Ali al-Talafari confirmed the news, asserting that the irresponsible acts by some police elements were contained while 18 policemen were arrested. The police did not comment on the incident. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also strongly criticized the bombing attacks in Talafar that left 51 dead and 183 wounded. He vowed to track down the perpetrators.
Sectarian violence continued Thursday, when five mortar shells hit a Shiite district, wounding three people, according to police Brig. Abdul-Karim al-Jibouri. The city was under curfew Thursday for the second successive day, said al-Jibouri. Husham al-Hamdani, head of the provincial government's security committee in nearby Mosul, said local authorities planned a reconciliation meeting between the city's Sunni and Shiite leaders. He also announced that policemen arrested Wednesday on suspicion of taking part in the revenge killings have been freed. He declined to give a reason.
Labels: Ali al-Talafari, Brig. Abdul-Karim al-Jibouri, sectarian violence, Tal Afar
