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Iraq

Iraqi officials to open 'death squads' inquiry

BAGHDAD - The Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry announced an investigation Thursday into claims of death squads in its ranks as police found a dozen more bodies, bringing the number of apparent victims of sectarian reprisal killings here to at least 30 this week.

The inquiry was announced after U.S. military officials indicated there was evidence to support the allegation of death squads. The 12 men found on Thursday had been bound and shot in the head execution-style.

At least 27 other people were killed in violence across Iraq, including three tribal sheiks slain in a drive-by shooting. Three supporters of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr died in a mortar barrage, and gunmen killed two owners of a convenience store that sold beer. Islamic extremists often target shops selling alcohol or DVDs deemed pornographic.

TORTURE CONDEMNED: The Iraqi government Thursday condemned the past abuse of Iraqi prisoners shown in new pictures from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, and a Web site said it had obtained more than 1,000 photos, videos and supporting documents from the Army investigation of the case.

In a carefully worded statement, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's office said the government "strongly denounces such acts" but welcomed the "firm denunciation" issued by the Bush administration of past abuses at Abu Ghraib.

The statement also noted that the pictures and videos, first published Wednesday by an Australian television broadcaster, were from 2003 and that "the issue was dealt with at that time and the people involved were prosecuted."

BIRD FLU DEATH SUSPECTED: The dead uncle of an Iraqi girl who died last month after contracting bird flu also had the disease, U.S. and U.N. officials said Thursday, citing test results at a U.N.-certified laboratory in Egypt. One further test must be carried out by a London laboratory certified by the World Health Organization before the United Nations confirms that the uncle did in fact have the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The Iraqi man died Jan. 27 in northern Kurdistan and lived in the same house as his 15-year-old niece, the country's first confirmed bird flu-related death.

[Last modified February 17, 2006, 02:15:35]