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MOSUL:
Fifteen more bodies were found in and around Mosul
in the past 24 hours, said the US and Iraqi
officials yesterday bringing to at least 40 the
number of corpses discovered in the city in the past
week.
The new bodies have not been identified but the ones
found before belonged mostly to Iraqi soldiers in
what US military commanders say is campaign by
insurgents to spread fear among members of the
fledgling force and ordinary citizens.
"Twelve more unidentified bodies were found by
multinational forces conducting patrolling
operations on the western side of the city," said US
military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Hastings.
He said this was in addition to the three bodies,
including one of a Kurd and member of Iraq's
security forces, found near a mosque in the New
Mosul neighbourhood and at the Al Yarmuk roundabout.
"Iraqi security forces have been targeted by
religious extremist elements to spread fear," added
Hastings.
One of the bodies was picked up near the city's
bridge number one in the south, General Motaz Taqa
of the Joint Co-ordination Centre, a unit comprising
US and Iraqi forces.
He said six bodies were found in a cemetery in the
Wadi Al Aqat area on the west side and three others
in the industrial zone.
"We have taken them all to the morgue, only one of
them had an identification card saying he was from
Diwaniyah in the south," he said.
Hastings said two bodies were found in Tall Afar,
west of Mosul.
At least 40 bodies have been found in the city over
the past week.
US troops also arrested the Imam of a mosque near
the location where one of the bodies was found
Friday.
The man was shot after he left the mosque in New
Mosul and his body was found dumped on the street
nearby, said Saif Salem, a soldier in the national
guard.
The Imam, who was blindfolded and handcuffed, was
detained with two others during a raid by US troops.
Soldiers blasted their way into the homes rounding
up a total of 14, an AFP reporter said.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com
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