More Death Squad Victims Found in Iraq

09/23/2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The bodies of five apparent victims of death squads were turned in Saturday to the morgue in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad.

They had been shot in the head and chest and dumped in the Tigris river near Suwayrah, 25 miles south of the capital, said morgue official Ma’moun Ajeel al-Rubai’ey.

The victims were blindfolded with their arms and hands bound, and showed signs of having been tortured, he said.

Hundreds of bodies have turned up around Baghdad in recent weeks. Most were men who had been tortured and shot, hallmarks of death squads.

Both Sunni Arab and Shiite death squads roam the streets of the capital, but the Shiite groups are thought to outnumber the Sunni ones.

Sunni Arabs have accused the Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry of ties to death squads, many of whose members are thought to be recruited from Shiite militias. But U.S. commanders have said recent operations have found no evidence of such a link.