Iraqi forces arrests accused of killing Shiite pilgrims

19 September, 2011 14:24

Iraqi forces arrests accused of killing Shiite pilgrims

Dozens of military and police officers descended on the Iraqi town of Rutbah was, rounding up a number of men they said were responsible for the execution-style slayings of 22 Shiite pilgrims in the area earlier this week.

Army and police SWAT team members in tanks from the majority Shiite city of Karbala south of Baghdad rumbled through the area in Anbar province Thursday afternoon to take into custody the men they said were involved in Mondayâ€™s attack.Â

According to the Shiite News, Gunmen on Monday night had stopped a tour bus of pilgrims from Karbala traveling from a holy shrine in Syria, hijacking the vehicle and driving it out into the desert. They killed all the men who had been on board.

It was unclear who authorized Thursdayâ€™s military action, and why. The number of men arrested was in dispute. A spokesman for the Karbala police said that 10 men were taken into custody, while authorities in Anbar said the number was 20.

Police officials in Karbala, where the dead had been mourned in highly public funerals this week, drove through the streets in police cars with loudspeakers to spread what a police commander there called â€œthe good newsâ€ of the arrests.