The bodies of some 50 Iraqi soldiers were found on a road in eastern Iraq, apparently after they were killed in an ambush as they were heading home on leave, Iraqi authorities said Sunday.
Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul-Rahman said the soldiers were believed to have been killed about sundown Saturday on a road about 150 kms east of Baghdad near the Iranian border.
Iraqi government spokeswoman Maha Malik quoted witnesses as saying resistance fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades at two vehicles carrying the unarmed troops.
Gen. Walid al-Azzawi, commander of the Diyala provincial police, said the bodies were laid out in four rows each, with 12 bodies in each row. "After inspection, we found out that they were shot after being ordered to lay down on the earth," he said, according to The AP.
Police confirmed they had found 51 bodies from the attack place.
Meanwhile, al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility on Sunday for the killing of the Iraqi army recruits. "The mujahideen killed them all, stole two vehicles and the salaries they had just received from their masters," a statement from the group said, according to Reuters. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
