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Mystery surrounds mass Shia deaths in Iraq
By Andrew England in Baghdad
Published: April 21 2005 03:00
The bodies of more than 50 people have been discovered dumped in the Tigris river south of Baghdad, Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, said yesterday.
He said the victims were believed to have been Shia hostages executed by Sunni insurgents in the Madaen district last week.
The announcement seemed likely to deepen the intrigue surrounding the alleged massacre, which was dismissed as rumour earlier this week after Iraqi troops raided Madaen and found nothing to corroborate reports of a mass killing.
"We will give you details in the coming days," Mr Talabani told a news conference. "Terrorists committed crimes there. It is not true that there were no hostages. There were, but they were killed and they threw the bodies into the Tigris. More than 50 bodies have been brought out from the Tigris and we have the full names of those who were killed and those criminals who committed these crimes."
Officials had claimed that the insurgents had threatened to kill as many as 150 civilian hostages - who had reportedly been held since last Friday - unless the Shia left the area. But after security forces found no hostages, some people suggested the reports were exaggerated.
Iyad Allawi, the outgoing prime minister, had blamed the kidnappings on a group linked to al-Qaeda and led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The group reportedly issued an internet statement denying the allegations and accused the government of fabricating the case.
The hostage-taking claims caused debate in parliament about the make-up of Iraq's security forces, and the alleged incident was cited as an example of the need to purge former members of Saddam Hussein's regime from the military and police forces.
Mr Talabani also said yesterday that a new cabinet was likely be announced today. "We want to announce it [the new government] as soon as possible," he said.
News agencies also reported that 19 Iraqi National Guards were killed yesterday in a football stadium in Hadith, north-west of Baghdad, after they were taken hostage.
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