Mass Grave Discovered North of Baghdad

BAGHDAD — A mass grave containing about 100 bodies was discovered Saturday in a region north of Baghdad that has seen years of intense fighting between Shiites and Sunni extremist members of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The grisly discovery came as Iraq's Sunni parliament speaker called on the nation's Shiites and Kurds to work together with the minority he represents to pass an election law that would help reconcile Iraq's often warring sects and splinter groups.

The grave, near Khalis in the Diyala province about 50 miles north of Baghdad, is still being investigated, but the U.S. military said the skeletal remains appear to have been there for a long time.

It was not immediately clear how the people had died, the military said.

Police Col. Sabah al-Ambaqi said the grave was discovered in an orchard near al-Bu Tumaa, a Sunni village outside Khalis. He said authorities including both Iraqi and U.S. forces were conducting a search when they uncovered the site.

Khalis is a Shiite town surrounded by Sunni communities and has been the scene of repeated sectarian attacks. Al-Qaida in Iraq is active in the area, which has seen hundreds of kidnapping and mass abductions in past years.

Police in Diyala reported two separate bombings Saturday in which six people were killed.

The U.S. is in charge of security in Baghdad and other parts of central and northern Iraq, but they plan to eventually hand it over to Iraqi forces. The two countries have reportedly been hashing out some of the terms for some time now, but the Defense Department said the negotiations were to officially commence Saturday.

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Diplomats have been discussing agreements for a long-term relationship between the two countries and a deal that will define the legal basis for a U.S. troop presence in the future.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said late Friday the United States' goal is to complete a deal by December, when the U.N. Security Council resolution that now governs the U.S. and coalition presence in Iraq expires.

Morrell would not discuss specifics, but said the final agreement "does not seek permanent bases, will not in any way codify the number of troops that will remain in Iraq; it will not tie the hands of a future commander in chief, it will not require Senate ratification, but we will make every effort to keep Congress apprised of progress in these talks."

Both sides see an agreement as the basis for establishing a normal state-to-state relationship, enabling Iraq to function with full sovereignty.

To do so, Iraq must work toward national reconciliation between its sectarian groups, which includes holding provincial elections on Oct. 1. The elections would transfer some power from the national government to the provinces and decentralize the decision-making process.

Parliament last month approved a bill that was to set up provincial elections. It was rejected by the Shiite member of Iraq's three member presidential council.

The disagreement over the proposed law comes over who has the right to appoint a local governor. The bill says it's the prime minister's prerogative, but some influential Shiites want the power to rest with provincial legislatures _ where they have influence.

"We are seeking ... a unified stance to go forward together in the right direction," Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said.

In Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and the urban center of an oil-rich region, thousands of people took to the streets to protest deteriorating security in the southern city where Iraqi forces assumed responsibility for safety in December.

Its Shiite residents are becoming increasingly alarmed about security, saying that killings, kidnappings and other crimes have increased significantly since British forces turned over security responsibility.

In February, two journalists working for CBS were kidnapped in Basra. One was released but the other, a Briton, is still being held.

A long line of marchers, estimated to be as many as 5,000 people, demonstrated near the Basra police command headquarters Saturday, demanding that the police chief, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Khalaf, and the commander of joint military-police operation, Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji, resign.

Comments

[gcallaghan]

Republicans = Military Failure

[realpolitic]

When Bush sees Iraqis marching for greater security, he will conclude they want Americans to stay for ever.

[fact finder]

So I will post it again. Get out and let them work it out as they see fit. 1776 BIDGP

[charon]

No doubt the remains of victims of the Shi'a death squads, trained and directed by US Spec Ops forces. Bush instituted the "Salvadoran Option" some years ago in Iraq, meaning using intensive torture and death squads to neutralize opposition, like the CIA-backed death squads in El Salvador in the '80s. This is what Bush means when he speaks of "spreading democracy.­"

[fact finder]

So the U.S should get out as fast as possible and let them sort it out in the manner that they want. 1776

[rivrgrrl]

Hmmmmm - do you know what is missing from this story, and probably everyone just like it? Well, we've heard from the local Iraqi officials, the US military officials and the national Iraqi officials yet not one word from the group protesting. What exactly are their motivations for forming this protest? What would they like to see happen to address the problem of growing violence in their community? Why are we not hearing their point of view?

There are reporters out there reporting these kinds of things, but it doesn't make it through the edits and filters. That's too bad; I would much rather read about these events from the perspective of the locals experiencing them, all of the locals, not just the government officials.

From the article:

'Many carried banners, decrying the killing of women, workers, academics and scientists. Dozens of women were slain in Basra by religious extremists last year because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against "violating Islamic teachings.­'

After five years of tearing their country apart, both literally and figueratively, this is where we are at in Iraq......­where women are now killed for not accepting the perverse and submissive role of chattel.

Way to go, chimpy boy.

[helonias]

"special groups" militias brought to you by Bushco.

[lornejl]

Its safer in every city in Iraq, than any city in the U.S. Stop pissing and moaning Iraqis, and resume with the flower and chocolate throwing.

[TLV]

A question for all you Bush-loving neocons:

Why would the Iraqis be protesting if things are going swimmingly?

[timothe]

I guess that whole idea about Iraqi casualties being down because there are no more Iraqis to kill isn't true. Kudos to the Iraqi people for understanding their right to protest peacefully in a democratic nation. Perhaps the Iraqi people may actually accept democracy if the government can provide security for its people.

[HumeSkeptic]

The fact that they can go out and protest in the streets seems indicative of the fact that while security in Basra is bad, it is not nearly as bad as in Baghdad, where they do have "coalition" forces.

[Irons]

Send Sheriff Bush over there - he'll give them the old "dead or alive" warning.

[Davwbaird]

Iowa GOP congress peerson needs to resign at once for gross and racist comments about Obama. These snakes in the grass have no human decency.