IRAQ:An al-Qaeda-linked Sunni group in Iraq said yesterday that it kidnapped 18 government workers and soldiers in retaliation for the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by members of the Shiite-dominated police force. Hours later, the government said the bodies of 14 security officers had been found.
The Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni group linked to al-Qaeda, posted a statement on the internet earlier yesterday saying 18 men were kidnapped in retaliation for the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by members of Iraq's Shiite-dominated police force.
Photos accompanied the claim, showing up to 18 blindfolded men. Seven were wearing Iraqi military uniforms, and all had their hands tied behind their backs.
Brig Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said the 14 bodies were found this afternoon in Diyala province north-east of Baghdad.
He blamed al-Qaeda for the killings, and said Iraqi authorities would "chase those who assassinated these unarmed people".
The group had threatened to kill the hostages within 24 hours if the Iraqi government did not hand over officers accused in the rape case, and release all Sunni women held in Iraqi prisons.
The claim surfaced on the web early yesterday, but it was unclear when the 24 hours began.
"This blessed operation is a response to crimes carried out by those infidels in their fight against the Sunnis," the statement said. "The latest of the crimes committed by these traitors was to rape our sister in religion."
In Baghdad, a pair of car bombs killed at least 11 people in separate attacks across the city. The bigger occurred at a used car dealer near the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City, killing 10 people, wounding 17 and setting several cars ablaze, police said.
The other blast was near a police patrol in south-west Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding two civilians, police reported.
Reports emerged of fierce clashes earlier this week between al-Qaeda and residents of the village of Amiriyat near Fallujah, 25 miles west of Baghdad.
The area of Iraq's western Anbar province has been a centre for Sunni insurgents. Khalaf said 80 al-Qaeda members were killed and 50 captured there on Wednesday.
Residents of the area, contacted by satellite phone, confirmed there had been fighting there but could not verify the casualty figure nor describe the extent of the clashes. - ( AP)