Iraqi torture victims’ bodies dumped behind mosque

AT least two dozen bodies, many bearing signs of torture, were found dumped in Shi’ite areas of Baghdad yesterday, while the government almost doubled the death toll from clashes this week between militiamen and Iraqi forces, saying 73 people had died.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office announced that 50 gunmen loyal to firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had been killed in clashes in the southern city of Diwaniyah with the Iraqi army, which lost 23 troops.

The death toll was significantly higher than the 40 people initially reported to have been killed Monday before a deal between the Shi’ite militiamen and the government ended a fierce, 12-hour street battle.

Diwaniyah was calm yesterday, residents and officials said, but an explosion at an oil pipeline south of the city killed at least 27 people. The cause was unclear, but police said people had been siphoning oil, which can cause accidental explosions.

Monday’s fighting in Diwaniyah was some of the worst in recent months between the Iraqi army and Shi’ite militiamen loyal to Mr al-Sadr. At least 10 civilians were killed before the cease-fire was reached.

Police Lieutenant Raid Jabir said: “Life is back to normal, the shops are open and Iraqi police and soldiers are deployed everywhere in Diwaniyah.”

Leaders of the tribes to which the dead combatants belonged held reconciliation talks yesterday to prevent retaliatory attacks, he said.

Meanwhile, in Baghdad, police said they found the bodies of 24 people who had apparently been tortured and shot before being dumped in two locations.

Eleven of the bullet-riddled corpses, their hands and legs bound, were found near a school in the Shi’ite dominated Maalif neighbourhood in southern Baghdad, police said.

The bodies of another 13 people, believed to have been aged between 25 and 35, were found dumpedbehind a Shi’ite mosque in the Turath neighbourhood in western Baghdad.

All were handcuffed, showed signs of torture and had been shot in the head, said police Lieutenant Maitham Abdul-Razaq.