English

Hello 

Create Profile

Creating your profile will enable you to submit photos and stories to get published on News24.


Please provide a username for your profile page:

This username must be unique, cannot be edited and will be used in the URL to your profile page across the entire 24.com network.

Settings

Location Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location. If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to take affect.









Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.

 
 

Cops massacred Sunni Arabs

2007-03-29 17:23
line

Mosul - Iraq's embattled government admitted on Thursday that police were behind the vengeful slaughter of at least 70 Sunni Arabs in a northern town as more bodies of men, killed execution-style, were found.

A doctor in Tal Afar, the site of Iraq's worst sectarian bloodshed in recent months, said bodies of five shot men were brought to hospital by Iraqi soldiers on Thursday.

Interior minister Jawad Bolani, an independent Shi'ite in the Shi'ite-dominated government, confirmed the perpetrators of Tuesday's killings were policemen, of whom an overwhelming majority are Shi'ites.

"We will take legal action against a group of them. An order has been issued by the prime minister (Nuri al-Maliki) to investigate the violations caused by elements of the police in Tal Afar," said Bolani.

An Iraqi army source speaking on condition of anonymity said 13 policemen had been detained for the mass killings of Sunni Arabs in the town on Tuesday.

But later an Iraqi military spokesperson in Mosul said the detained policemen were released as many of them had lost relatives in the truck bombing which had killed 85 people the same day prior to the brutal rampage.

'Harrowing tales'

"We released them on the undertaking that they will be questioned later. The decision was taken because of their psychological state," he said without giving his name.

Gunmen went on a bloody rampage through the town's Sunni district of al-Wahada after a presumed Sunni suicide bomber blew up a truck in a crowded Shi'ite district.

Survivors told harrowing tales of gunmen dragging men out of their homes, handcuffing and blindfolding them, before spraying gunfire at random leaving dead pensioners, fathers, sons and teenagers.

"They broke into our house wearing both police uniforms and plain clothes. They killed my husband and killed by son. Then they sprayed me with bullets. I was shot in the leg," said Umm Abdul Sattar from a hospital in Mosul.

Maliki has ordered a full investigation into the bombing and shootings but his investigative team of interior and defence ministries' officials had not reached the town yet.

Local doctors confirmed 70 Sunni men were shot dead with a bullet in the head on Tuesday. They said another 40 people were missing and a further 30 - mostly women - wounded.

Iraq's leading Sunni religious organisation blamed government security forces for the massacre.

'Corpses shipped to Mosul'

"A force from the interior ministry's sectarian militia committed a new communal massacre against innocent civilians," said the Muslim Scholars Association in Baghdad.

Two lorries crammed with the bodies of more than 50 of the shooting victims were moved to a hospital in Mosul, along with two ambulances ferrying women wounded in the rampage, said doctors.

A doctor travelling in the convoy said the corpses were shipped to Mosul to get death certificates. He accused hospital authorities in Tal Afar of refusing to provide adequate certification.

Read News24’s Comments Policy

inside news24

 

140
1
1 of 10
 
Traffic
Lottery
 
  • Wednesday Ladysmith - 22:09 PM
    Road name: N11 Both Ways
    ROADWORK - two sets of stop / go controls just south of the R68 Dundee exit - expect waiting times of up to 20 minutes between Ladysmith and Newcastle (ends March 2013)
  • Saturday Pretoria - 08:07 AM
    Road name: N1 Both Ways
    ROADWORKS - lane closures on both carriageways for long term roadworks between the N4 Witbank Highway Interchange and the Zambesi Drive exit - EXPECT DELAYS (until Jan 2013)
 
More traffic reports...
 

Jobs [change area]

Cars[change area]

VOLKSWAGEN

Polo Classic 1.4 Trendline MY05
2007
R 105,995.00

FORD

Bantam 1.3i XLT PU MY06
2009
R 122,892.00

VOLKSWAGEN

CitiGolf 1.4i 5-dr MY04
2007
R 72,995.00

Property [change area]

Vulintaba Country Estate, Upper Drakensberg

A lifestyle estate beyond compare. Home Package Options From R990 000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Casa Rex, Vilanculos

Spend 5 nights in at the magical Mozambican resort of Casa Rex from R7983 per person sharing. Includes accommodation, return flights, taxes and transfers. Book now!

Kalahari.com - shop online today

Legos

Let your child construct his own fun with only his imagination limiting his creations. Buy now.

iPad

Update the way you socialize, work and play with the latest iPad models. Buy now.

Max Payne 3

Seeking Redemption from the past, Max hopes to enter his last fight and finally put his demons to rest. Buy now.

Sins of the Father

Foul play in New York City sets the tone. Boundaries pushed, Loyalties tested and secrets unravelled in Jeffrey Archer’s, Sins of the Father. Buy now.

Nikon Camera Range

Capture and preserve your life’s precious memories with the Nikon Camera Range. Buy now.

OLX Free Classifieds [change area]

pool table

For Sale, Toys - Games - Hobbies in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 6

Lexus: IS

Vehicles, Cars in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 7

stylish bachelor furnished in sandton from 1st of june

Real Estate, Houses - Apartments for Rent in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 7

Gobii eReader

Only R899.95

Affordable, compact & elegant there has never been a better time to start your ebook adventure than with the Gobii.

Visit www.kalahari.com for millions of books, music, DVDs, games & more!

BlackBerry Bold 9700

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone has a large, hi-res screen...

From R3200.00

I'm shopping for:

Horoscopes
Aquarius
Aquarius

You are impatient to get things done and should go flat out to accomplish your goals for today. Sadly though, your co-workers do...read more

There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.