Bodies of 22 Slaying Victims Reportedly Found in Baghdad
Twenty-two bodies were discovered Monday in the southeast Baghdad neighborhood of Um Maalif, including one identified as that of a police colonel from the southern city of Karbala, a hospital official said.
All had been shot and most were believed to be Shiite Muslims. Two were beheaded.
The night before the bodies were discovered, men dressed in Iraqi national guard uniforms raided the neighborhood, a police official said today.
When a local resident tried to stop the men, he was shot, the official said.
The raiders then led away several other residents, including two members of the Iraqi security forces assigned to guard electric plants. The men are believed to be among the dead discovered Monday.
In addition, five Sunni Arabs were killed by gunmen in Baghdad early Tuesday when they were leaving a hospital where they had visited an injured Sunni religious leader, according to hospital officials.
The deaths appeared to be the latest in a surge of sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni factions that has killed scores of people in the last several months. Both sides say they have been targeted.
The Shiites dominate the government, but the Sunnis held control under ousted President Saddam Hussein.
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