6 December 2005 -- Authorities say they have found the bodies of 11 men dressed in civilian clothes next to a major highway in Iraq.
The bodies were discovered near the town of Rutba, 370 kilometers west of Baghdad, in the mainly Sunni Arab desert province of Anbar. The area is a stronghold of the insurgency against the Shi'ite and Kurdish-led government.
Police say the bodies all had their hands tied and that the men appeared to have been killed three days ago.
The identities of the victims is unclear. Insurgents in the area in the past have killed Shi'ites traveling to Jordan and Syria, as well as members of Iraq's security forces.
(Reuters)
Meet The Newsmaker
Meet The Newsmaker
Shortly after assuming his post as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad laid out his vision for that country in a major policy address. His plan called for a national compact enshrined in the constitution; the isolation and defeat of terrorists and hardcore Ba'athists and encouraging the region's leaders to address problems in a cooperative spirit and to pressure those who continue to foment instability....(more)