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Captives freed, but no relief
Associated Press
Published November 16, 2006
BAGHDAD - Kidnappers released about 70 people snatched in a mass abduction by suspected Shiite militiamen who answer to a key backer of the prime minister - a sign that the militants went too far and that Iraq's leader may be yielding to intense U.S. pressure to crack down on sectarian violence. But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki clearly has more work to do. Iraqi police, hospital and morgue officials reported more than 100 new violent deaths Wednesday, and the U.S. military announced the combat deaths of three U.S. Army soldiers and three U.S. Marines. The six all died Tuesday, four fighting in the insurgent stronghold of Anbar province and two killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. So far this month, 40 U.S. service members have been killed or died in Iraq, and the toll since the war began is at 2,858. The quick release of many of the captives - less than 24 hours after the abductions - was surprising in a country where hundreds of Iraqis have been kidnapped and murdered each month. In two recent mass kidnappings, both of about 50 people, the victims were never heard of again. It was unclear how many Iraqis remained captive from Tuesday's assault on the Higher Education Ministry in Karradah, a primarily Shiite area of downtown Baghdad. Government ministries have given wildly varying figures on the number of people seized, with reports ranging from a high of about 150 to a low of 40 to 50. Higher Education Minister Abed Theyab told Al-Arabiya television that the government is working to free the rest. The assault was widely believed to have been the work of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. Sadr's Sadrist Movement is one of Maliki's prime political backers. About 6:30 p.m. Tuesday: Gunmen killed a former member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party outside his home in Kut. About 6:30 p.m.: Attackers killed two Shiites and set their home on fire in a town south of Baghdad, police said. 7:30 a.m. Wednesday: Gunmen killed a police officer heading to work in Kirkuk, police said. 8 a.m.: Gunmen killed an Iraqi journalist in Mosul, police said. 8 a.m.: Gunmen killed an Iraqi journalist in Baqubah, police said. 9:45 a.m.: A car bomb exploded near a gasoline station in central Baghdad, killing 11 people and injuring 32, police said. 3 p.m.: A suicide bomber targeted a funeral in south Baghdad, killing three people and injuring 15, police said. 4 p.m.: Gunmen killed a soldier leaving his home in Mosul, police said. 5 p.m.: Gunmen riding in a moving vehicle fired on workers refurbishing a police station in Mosul, killing two workers and wounding three others, police said. Also Wednesday: -U.S. forces killed three people in Ramadi, city hospital officials said. -Police in Diyala province report that attackers stormed the house of a top provincial official and killed the man's brother and cousin. The presumed target was not home. -Police found six bodies bearing signs of violent death in Baqubah. -Authorities in Kut reported finding nine bodies, all with hands bound and bearing bullet wounds. -Police reported two bodies found in Samara, including a woman with hands bound. -Security forces in Baghdad found 62 bodies, some blindfolded with hands bound and bearing signs of torture, police said.
[Last modified November 16, 2006, 00:39:55]
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