Monday, March 05, 2007
Sunnis turn on each other as some support reconciliation with Shias
Security
(Al Jazeera) Six Sunni men, who received death threats for meeting with local Shias, have been killed in execution-style slayings in a rising wave of sectarian violence, Iraqi police and military said. The attack on Saturday near Youssifiyah, 20 km south of the capital Baghdad, comes a day after the claimed abduction and execution of at least 14 Shias.
But in this case, Iraqi authorities said they believed that Sunni gunmen had killed fellow Sunnis revealing a rift between those who support reconciliation with Shias and those who will kill to stop it. Also on Saturday, three US soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb that exploded while they were on patrol in central Baghdad, the military said.
An adviser to Iraq's defence ministry was kidnapped in western Baghdad, an aide to Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, said. Lieutenant General Thamir Sultan hails from Saddam Hussein's tribe and had been mentioned as a possible defense minister when the current government was organised last year. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.
Earlier, the US military said it killed "key terrorists" who were using anti-aircraft artillery to fire at American military helicopters near Taji, north of Baghdad.
The Iraqi men gunned down Saturday - all relatives from the Mashhada tribe - were killed after gunmen stormed the family's house at dawn, Haider Satar, an Iraqi policeman, said. The victims in Youssifiyah were separated from women and children and shot dead in their home, Satar said. Captain Ahmed al-Obeidi, from the Iraqi army, whose unit is stationed near the site of the attack, also confirmed the incident.
The bodies were transferred to a hospital morgue in the neighbouring town of Mahmoudiyah, where Associated Press Television footage showed them wrapped in blankets and lined up on the metal floor of a refrigeration chamber. At least two had their hands tied and bound behind their backs. The motive of the brutal attack could not be independently verified. But police, citing information from surviving relatives, said the victims had received threats from Sunni gunmen after participating in a reconciliation conference with Shias last month. The conference was held in Mahmoudiyah in late February.
But in this case, Iraqi authorities said they believed that Sunni gunmen had killed fellow Sunnis revealing a rift between those who support reconciliation with Shias and those who will kill to stop it. Also on Saturday, three US soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb that exploded while they were on patrol in central Baghdad, the military said.
An adviser to Iraq's defence ministry was kidnapped in western Baghdad, an aide to Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, said. Lieutenant General Thamir Sultan hails from Saddam Hussein's tribe and had been mentioned as a possible defense minister when the current government was organised last year. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.
Earlier, the US military said it killed "key terrorists" who were using anti-aircraft artillery to fire at American military helicopters near Taji, north of Baghdad.
The Iraqi men gunned down Saturday - all relatives from the Mashhada tribe - were killed after gunmen stormed the family's house at dawn, Haider Satar, an Iraqi policeman, said. The victims in Youssifiyah were separated from women and children and shot dead in their home, Satar said. Captain Ahmed al-Obeidi, from the Iraqi army, whose unit is stationed near the site of the attack, also confirmed the incident.
The bodies were transferred to a hospital morgue in the neighbouring town of Mahmoudiyah, where Associated Press Television footage showed them wrapped in blankets and lined up on the metal floor of a refrigeration chamber. At least two had their hands tied and bound behind their backs. The motive of the brutal attack could not be independently verified. But police, citing information from surviving relatives, said the victims had received threats from Sunni gunmen after participating in a reconciliation conference with Shias last month. The conference was held in Mahmoudiyah in late February.
Labels: execution, Lieutenant General Thamir Sultan, Mashhada tribe, reconciliation, Shias, Sunnis, Youssifiyah
