This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7347361.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Sadr demands forces be reinstated | Sadr demands forces be reinstated |
(10 minutes later) | |
Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has demanded the Iraqi government reinstate 1,300 soldiers and police who were dismissed for desertion during recent fighting. | Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has demanded the Iraqi government reinstate 1,300 soldiers and police who were dismissed for desertion during recent fighting. |
His office said those who had handed their weapons to militiamen during the clashes in Basra and Kut were following orders from their religious leaders. | His office said those who had handed their weapons to militiamen during the clashes in Basra and Kut were following orders from their religious leaders. |
Those sacked are believed to be loyal to the radical cleric, whose Mehdi Army militia was the target of the raids. | Those sacked are believed to be loyal to the radical cleric, whose Mehdi Army militia was the target of the raids. |
Meanwhile, a car bombing has killed 12 members of the Kurdish Peshmerga force. | Meanwhile, a car bombing has killed 12 members of the Kurdish Peshmerga force. |
The troops, who are now part of the Iraqi army, died when there convoy was attacked near the Syrian border about 120km (75 miles) north-west of the city of Mosul, local police said. | |
US-led forces also discovered a mass grave containing 20 to 30 badly decomposed bodies near Muqdadiya, 60km (37 miles) north of Baghdad, the US military said in a statement. | |
The victims appeared to have been buried for nearly eight months and troops were unable to determine whether they had been tortured, it added. | The victims appeared to have been buried for nearly eight months and troops were unable to determine whether they had been tortured, it added. |