Iraqi TV shows confessions of insurgents killed thousands of Iraqis

Iraqi TV shows confessions of insurgents killed thousands of Iraqis
The Iraqi official television on Monday showed confessions of 22 insurgents who admitted their role in the killing of more than 3,000 Iraqis during the peak of sectarian strife that engulfed the country after the U.S.-led invasion.

The suspects, who said to be linked to al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein's Baath party, are part of 200 insurgents captured by Iraqi security forces late in 2007, Major General Adel Daham, head of operations office in the Iraqi Interior Ministry, said during a televised news conference.

Daham said that the insurgents are accused of kidnapping and killing some 3,300 citizens, most of whom were recruits to Iraqi army and police, during the years from 2004 to November 2007 when they were nabbed by Iraqi security forces.

Dozens of the victims' family members attended the news conference which was repeatedly interrupted by crying women, men and children who demanded execution in revenge for their beloved victims, the state-run television of Iraqia showed.

The news conference came amid a row among Iraqi political parties over the roundup of hundreds of Baathists late in October sparking tension between the Sunni-backed political bloc of Iraqia, which condemned the operations and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.

Sunnis see the arrests as part of attempts to further marginalize their minority group which had ruled the country under Saddam's Baath party.

Following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the country has witnessed chaos and sectarian strife between Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias. The infighting left hundreds of thousands of people killed by reprisal attacks.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

English.news.cn   2011-11-21 22:49:28 FeedbackPrintRSS
BAGHDAD, Nov. 21 (Xinhua)