Topic: 12 Bodies Discovered Near Fallujah

USA Today
December 4, 2007
Pg. 5
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Iraqi troops unearthed a grave with the remains of 12 people, including a paramedic who disappeared more than a year ago, hospital officials told the Associated Press on Monday.
Morgue workers wearing masks to shield them from the stench of decomposing bodies dug through bags of bones and tattered clothes as they sought clues to the identities of those killed.
More than 100 bodies, including women and children, have turned up since October in the remote desert terrain surrounding Lake Tharthar, a man-made body of water straddling the predominantly Sunni provinces of Anbar and Salah al-Din about 60 miles northwest of Baghdad.
The U.S. military has made significant progress since last summer in forcing al-Qaeda in Iraq out of Anbar province. Iraqi forces have taken advantage of these security gains to step up patrols in areas previously considered no-go zones.
The newly discovered mass grave was between the lake and the Anbar city of Fallujah.
Two of the bodies found Sunday were beheaded, according to an official at Fallujah General Hospital, where the remains were taken. Hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to release details of the discovery, said some appeared to have been killed as recently as four months ago.
A Health Ministry card that belonged to the missing paramedic provided a rare solid identity clue.
Authorities have also found mass graves in other parts of the country where violence has decreased. Seventeen corpses were unearthed last month at a site near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Also Monday:
• At least 20 people were killed or found dead, including the mutilated bodies of four oil facility guards kidnapped the day before, police said. Col. Khali al-Zubaie, a spokesman for the Iraqi army in Kirkuk, said a fifth man who disappeared remained missing.
•The United States admitted only 362 Iraqi refugees in November, falling short of the number it needs per month to meet a goal of accepting 12,000 by the end of this budget year, according to State Department statistics.