Gunmen wearing Iraqi military uniforms raided homes in a Sunni village south of Baghdad, killing at least 24 people, including five women, in execution-style attacks, officials said Saturday. An army official said many of the victims were brutalized "beyond recognition."
At least seven people were found alive, bound with handcuffs, said Baghdad's security spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi. In the hours after Friday night's shootings, Iraqi officials cordoned off the area to search for suspects and helicopters swarmed overhead.
"The area has many orchards and streams, so it is difficult to secure, but we are investigating," al-Moussawi told The Associated Press. He said the killings bear "an obvious al-Qaida hallmark."
Many of the dead were members of local Sahwa, or Awakening Councils — one of several names for the Sunni fighters who changed the course of the war when they revolted against al-Qaida in Iraq and joined the Americans in late 2006 and 2007, officials said. The fighters also are known as Sons of Iraq.
A senior Iraqi army official who arrived at the scene Friday evening said the bodies were handcuffed and had been sprayed up and down with machine gun fire. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details publicly.
By: Brant
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