Topic: Iraqi soldiers discover bodies of 27 people

Iraqi soldiers discover bodies of 27 people southeast of Baghdad

KUT, Iraq - (AP) Iraqi soldiers found the bodies of 27 people
near the Iranian border Thursday, an Iraqi officer said, adding that they
appeared to have been dead for several days.
The victims were bound, shot in the head and wearing civilian
clothes when they were found near Jassan, 210 kilometers (130 miles)
southeast of Baghdad, Iraqi Army Col. Ali Mahmoud said. The identities of
the victims were not immediately known.
Groups of dead bodies _ suspected victims of sectarian death squads
_ turn up with alarming regularity in Iraq. The largest group of bodies
found outside Baghdad was 36 Sunnis discovered Aug. 25 in a dry riverbed
near Badrah, also close to the Iranian border, after being kidnapped in
Baghdad.
Officials suspect death squads from Shiite majority or the Sunni
minority are responsible for the killings.
At least 566 bodies have been found since Iraq's interim government
was formed April 28 _ 204 in Baghdad _ according to an Associated Press
count. The identities of many are unknown, but 116 are known to be Sunnis,
43 Shiites and one Kurd. Some are likely victims of crime _ including
kidnappings _ rampant in some cities and as dangerous to Iraqis as political
violence.
The count may be low since one or two bodies are found almost daily
and are never reported.