IRAQ: Fourteen Pakistani and Indian Shi'ite pilgrims are abducted and killed in western Anbar province

Fourteen Pakistani and Indian Shi'ite pilgrims were abducted and killed in Iraq's western desert, police saidon Saturday (September 2), a day after the Pentagon warned that sectarian strife there had created the risk of civil war. The 11 Pakistanis and three Indians, all male, had been travelling to holy Shi'ite sites in Iraq on Thursday (August 31) when they were attacked in Anbar province, heartland of the Sunni insurgency, Iraqi and Indian officials said. An official at the al-Hussein hospital in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala, where the bodies were taken on Friday, said the 14 men had their hands bound and had been shot in the head. Some had been tortured and one was partially decapitated. Pakistan said it strongly condemned the killings and again warned its citizens against travelling to Iraq. "They are 14 Pakistanis, visitors of Imam al-Hussein, two elderly and 12 young men. They were killed by gunshot to the head, heart and arms," said one unidentified hospital official. Officials said the 14 victims had been part of a larger group of 40 people who had crossed into Iraq after touring holy sites in Jordan and Syria. To get to Kerbala they had to cross the western desert of Anbar province, where the Sunni rebellion is strongest and U.S. forces suffer their heaviest casualties. Officials said gunmen had stopped the convoy and separated the men from the women in the party, which included 14 Indians and 26 Pakistanis. Police found the bodies of the men in neighbouring Kerbala province the following day. Shi'ite pilgrims have been frequent targets for attack. Just last week, a statement purportedly from al Qaeda's Iraqi umbrella group urged Sunnis, who form the majority among the world's Muslims but a minority in Iraq, to launch a holy war against Shi'ites. About 20 percent of Pakistan's 160 million people are Shi'ites. Most of the rest are Sunni Muslim. An attack on a revered Shi'ite shrine in February has unleashed bloodletting between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Muslims who were politically dominant under Saddam Hussein and now form the backbone of the insurgency. The 63-page Pentagon assessment released on Friday (September 1) said "conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq". "Nevertheless, the current violence is not a civil war, and movement toward a civil war can be prevented," it added. Key to Washington's strategy of averting all-out sectarian conflict has been the build-up of Iraqi security forces to help enforce the authority of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, which has so far failed to quell the violence. A ceremony in which Iraq was to assume operational command of its new armed forces from U.S.-led troops was postponed on Saturday at the last minute amid confusion, a U.S. military spokesman said, citing poor planning. Shi'ite pilgrims are a frequent target for insurgents, and Indian and Pakistani officials said they had issued warnings against travel to Iraq, home to many Shi'ite holy sites. Meanwhile in the holy city of Najaf, Maliki met the country's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to brief him on the latest political development. "The importance of the role played by the religious authorities in Iraqi politics demands that we keep him informed with the latest political and security developments and conditions the country is currently undergoing because we believe that he (Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani) offers the government crucial support while it is facing such challenges. Usually, when we inform the Sayyid (al-Sistani) with the latest developments in the country, as I did, we listen to his valuable instruction and advise, which will further boost the government and the people's drive to achieve a free and decent life," Maliki told reporters after meeting with Sistani in his office. Maliki said that Sistani affirmed during the meeting on the necessity to maintain contacts between the officials and the people. "His Eminence stresses the need for national unity and the need to unify Iraqis to stop the shedding of blood and unify stands in the face of challenges. He also stresses as part of his care for the people on the need to activate services and the need to maintain connection between the cities' local councils and ministries and the people to help offer services. He also stresses the need for ministers to visit provinces and interact with people," said Maliki. Earlier, Sistani, chastised his country's politicians for travelling abroad too often and said they should spend more time home improving public services. Answering a question on attempts and calls to form a national salvation government, Maliki said that such move would not succeed. "The current government is the one that really counts and if there are any recommendations or statements made by a party hostile to the political process, they will fail and will never see the light." Maliki also noted that four ministries would be affected by a planned cabinet reshuffle, but the oil minister, whose future has been the subject of speculation behind the scenes, would stay on. "There will be minor changes to four ministries that will be announced soon," said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Asked whether the Oil Ministry would be among them, he said "No". Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani is seen as a close ally of Sistani. Shahristani, due to attend an OPEC meeting in Vienna on Sept. 11, was criticised by some politicians for failing to tackle a fuel shortage crisis efficiently. The cabinet reshuffle, which will include the Transport Ministry, will need parliamentary approval. Parliament reconvenes from summer recess on Tuesday. Almost all of Iraq's income comes from its oil exports. Iraq has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world.

ITN Source | September 2, 2006

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