Nothing But Politics

[Rick Faurot]

Iraqi Police Discover Five Decapitated Iraqis
Tue Oct 5, 2004 08:50 AM ET

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Police have found five decapitated bodies of Iraqis in northern Iraqi cities, police and hospital officials said on Tuesday.
They said two decapitated bodies were found dumped separately in central Mosul on Tuesday, two days after another was discovered near a bus station. Two had been identified and the third was also believed to be an Iraqi.

There was no immediate word on who had beheaded the three men or on the motives for the killings.

In Kirkuk, Lieutenant Colonel Awaad Jibouri said the corpse and head of a former Iraqi army officer, identified as Ali Hussein, was found in a town southwest of the city. Hussein had worked at a U.S. military base in Kirkuk.

A second Iraqi, identified as Taha Abdullah, who worked at a U.S. barracks near Baiji was also beheaded and his body was found on Monday night, Jibouri said.

Militant groups fighting U.S.-led forces and the U.S.-backed Iraqi interim government have beheaded half a dozen foreign hostages and several Iraqis in recent months.

Insurgents have frequently targeted Iraqis and foreigners working for U.S. forces in Iraq, from truck drivers to laundry workers. mg

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.