Civil War Update: Gunmen kill 21 northeast of Baghdad, from AP :
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq – Gunmen killed 21 people “” many of them high school students “” after dragging them off buses northeast of Baghdad, officials said. Four Sunni Arabs were spared and the dead were all Shiites or Kurds.
Don’t-Violate-The-Sanctity-Of-The-Mosque Update: “Men killed at Iraq mosque,” from Reuters, :
A SUNNI religious group in the Shiite-dominated Iraqi city of Basra said today that police had gunned down 12 unarmed worshippers in a Sunni mosque but police said they were returning fire against gunmen.
A police source said they received a tip that “terrorists” had taken refuge inside al-Arab mosque and were fired on when they surrounded it last night. They said nine gunmen were killed and six arrested….
“Only worshipers were killed in the mosque,” it said. “They killed unarmed people inside the mosque.”
The-Qur’an-Forbids-Beheading Update: “Iraqi police gruesome discovery,” from AP, with thanks to JE:
Iraqi police found eight severed heads north of Baghdad with a note indicating at least one of the men was killed in retaliation for the slaying of four Shi’ite doctors, authorities said.
Islam-Condemns-Kidnapping Update: “Russians in diplomatic car kidnapped in Baghdad,” from AP, with thanks to Je:
Four Russian diplomats were kidnapped in western Baghdad and another was killed, a Russian news agency said.
According to police, witnesses told them the gunmen opened fire on a car that belonged to the Russian Embassy in west Baghdad’s Mansour district. Interior Ministry Lieutenant Colonel Falah al-Mohamedawi said one person was killed in the attack, just outside the embassy.