20 beheaded bodies found in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – Twenty beheaded bodies were discovered yesterday on the banks of the Tigris River southeast of Baghdad, and a parked car bomb killed another 20 people in one of the capital’s busy outdoor bus stations, police said.

The bodies – all men aged 20 to 40 years old – had their hands and legs bound, and some of the heads were found next to the bodies, two officers said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information. The remains were found in the Sunni Muslim village of Um al-Abeed, near the city of Salman Pak, which lies 20 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.Meanwhile, a parked car bomb ripped through a crowded transport hub in southwest Baghdad’s Baiyaa neighbourhood at morning rush hour, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 50, another officer said on the same condition.Many of the victims had been lining up for buses, awaiting a ride to work.Some 40 minibuses were incinerated in the explosion, police said.Associated Press Television News video showed an open square at least 50 metres wide, strewn with smouldering car parts and charred bodies with clothes in tatters.Bystanders, some weeping, gingerly loaded human remains into ambulances.A pickup truck rumbled slowly away from the scene, with two pairs of legs – the dead bodies of victims – dangling out of the back.One of the police officers who gave information about the ghastly discovery of bodies southeast of Baghdad is based at Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital, and the other is based in Kut, 160 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.The Baghdad officer said he learned of the discovery because the Interior Ministry sent troops to the village to investigate.The Kut officer said he first heard the report through residents of the Salman Pak area.Sporadic clashes had been under way in the Salman Pak area for several days, between Interior Ministry commandos and suspected insurgents, the Kut officer said.It was unclear whether the discovery of the bodies was related to the recent fighting.Salman Pak and its surrounding area has been the focus of new US military operations to oust suspected al Qaeda fighters from the Baghdad’s outskirts.American forces launched a drive into Salman Pak and neighbouring Arab Jabour two weeks ago.Nampa-APThe remains were found in the Sunni Muslim village of Um al-Abeed, near the city of Salman Pak, which lies 20 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.Meanwhile, a parked car bomb ripped through a crowded transport hub in southwest Baghdad’s Baiyaa neighbourhood at morning rush hour, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 50, another officer said on the same condition.Many of the victims had been lining up for buses, awaiting a ride to work.Some 40 minibuses were incinerated in the explosion, police said.Associated Press Television News video showed an open square at least 50 metres wide, strewn with smouldering car parts and charred bodies with clothes in tatters.Bystanders, some weeping, gingerly loaded human remains into ambulances.A pickup truck rumbled slowly away from the scene, with two pairs of legs – the dead bodies of victims – dangling out of the back.One of the police officers who gave information about the ghastly discovery of bodies southeast of Baghdad is based at Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital, and the other is based in Kut, 160 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.The Baghdad officer said he learned of the discovery because the Interior Ministry sent troops to the village to investigate.The Kut officer said he first heard the report through residents of the Salman Pak area.Sporadic clashes had been under way in the Salman Pak area for several days, between Interior Ministry commandos and suspected insurgents, the Kut officer said.It was unclear whether the discovery of the bodies was related to the recent fighting.Salman Pak and its surrounding area has been the focus of new US military operations to oust suspected al Qaeda fighters from the Baghdad’s outskirts.American forces launched a drive into Salman Pak and neighbouring Arab Jabour two weeks ago.Nampa-AP