69 corpses found in Baghdad

Published September 14, 2006

BAGHDAD, Sept 13: Police found 69 bullet-riddled corpses scattered in and around Baghdad on Wednesday of men killed in apparent sectarian attacks as two car bombs left another 28 people dead.

In the past 24 hours, 64 bodies were recovered from across Baghdad, with most of the victims shot dead execution-style with a bullet to the head, a pattern usually seen in the ongoing Shia-Sunni sectarian killings, security officials said.

Three bodies were found in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, and two in the town of Suweira, south of the capital.

One of the two bodies recovered from Suweira was headless, while dozens of those found in Baghdad were handcuffed and blindfolded.

A security official said most of the bodies found in Baghdad were discovered in the city’s Sunni and Shia populated west.

On Wednesday, Baghdad was also hit by two car bombs that left another 28 people dead and scores more wounded.

In the deadliest attack, rebels killed 20 people and wounded 51 others in a car bomb attack against a police patrol in east Baghdad, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf said.

“Five of those killed were policemen,” he said, adding the attack took place near a traffic police headquarters. In another similar attack, eight people were killed and 19 wounded when insurgents blew up a parked car loaded with explosives near two police patrols.—AFP