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| 4 Sunni Men Shot to Death in Shiite Area of Baghdad | |
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| BAGHDAD — The first recent sign of sectarian killing appeared in Baghdad late Monday when police found the bodies of four young Sunni men shot to death and left on a street in a mainly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad. | BAGHDAD — The first recent sign of sectarian killing appeared in Baghdad late Monday when police found the bodies of four young Sunni men shot to death and left on a street in a mainly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad. |
| They were between 25 and 30 years old and had been shot numerous times, according to a police source in the Interior Ministry. | They were between 25 and 30 years old and had been shot numerous times, according to a police source in the Interior Ministry. |
| Bodies being found in streets and empty lots was characteristic of the worst days of sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, much of it the work of Shiite militias who carried out extrajudicial killings and kidnappings. At the peak of the violence, as many as 80 bodies a day were found in Baghdad and its immediate suburbs. | Bodies being found in streets and empty lots was characteristic of the worst days of sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, much of it the work of Shiite militias who carried out extrajudicial killings and kidnappings. At the peak of the violence, as many as 80 bodies a day were found in Baghdad and its immediate suburbs. |
| In further worrisome news for the Iraqi government, the fighting raging in northern Iraq reached the city of Baquba, just 44 miles from the gates of Baghdad, around 10 p.m. on Monday, when armed Sunni militants attacked a police station on the western side of the city, setting off a three-hour gunfight, according to Brig. Gen. Jameel Kamal al-Shimmari, the police commander in Baquba. | In further worrisome news for the Iraqi government, the fighting raging in northern Iraq reached the city of Baquba, just 44 miles from the gates of Baghdad, around 10 p.m. on Monday, when armed Sunni militants attacked a police station on the western side of the city, setting off a three-hour gunfight, according to Brig. Gen. Jameel Kamal al-Shimmari, the police commander in Baquba. |
| Two policemen were killed and five wounded, according to hospital sources. | Two policemen were killed and five wounded, according to hospital sources. |
| “Everything in the city is now under control, and the groups of armed men are not seen in the city,” General Shimmari said. | “Everything in the city is now under control, and the groups of armed men are not seen in the city,” General Shimmari said. |
| The fighting is creeping closer to Baghdad and the offensive is being led by Sunni fighters drawn from the Sunni militant groups the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the Islamic Army, according to an Iraqi Intelligence source. Both of those groups have long had a presence in Diyala Province and were involved in some of the bloodiest fighting during the sectarian battles of 2005-2007. The 1920 brigades was formed from disaffected Iraqi Army officers who were left without jobs after the Americans dissolved the military in 2003. | The fighting is creeping closer to Baghdad and the offensive is being led by Sunni fighters drawn from the Sunni militant groups the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the Islamic Army, according to an Iraqi Intelligence source. Both of those groups have long had a presence in Diyala Province and were involved in some of the bloodiest fighting during the sectarian battles of 2005-2007. The 1920 brigades was formed from disaffected Iraqi Army officers who were left without jobs after the Americans dissolved the military in 2003. |
| Residents of Baquba said they feared a renewal of sectarian warfare. The city of Baquba is mainly Sunni but neighboring villages are Shiite and the province was the scene of some of the worst sectarian violence the country has seen. | Residents of Baquba said they feared a renewal of sectarian warfare. The city of Baquba is mainly Sunni but neighboring villages are Shiite and the province was the scene of some of the worst sectarian violence the country has seen. |
| “The violence in Baquba will lead to civil war because the villages that surrounded Baquba are Shiite,” said Jassim al-Ubaidi, a lawyer in Baquba.. | “The violence in Baquba will lead to civil war because the villages that surrounded Baquba are Shiite,” said Jassim al-Ubaidi, a lawyer in Baquba.. |
| Shiites are fearful, said Jaafer al-Rubaie, a retired government official. “We are afraid of a massacre of the Shiite minority if the security situation collapses,” he said. | Shiites are fearful, said Jaafer al-Rubaie, a retired government official. “We are afraid of a massacre of the Shiite minority if the security situation collapses,” he said. |