Iraq: gangs kill 25 people in Mosul

Mosul, 225 miles (362 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, has a mixed Kurdish and Sunni Arab population and a tradition of bad blood. The Kurds, who are largely Sunni Muslim but not Arab, have formed a prosperous autonomous region nearby after decades of oppression and mass killings under the Sunni Arab minority that ran Iraq until Saddam Hussein was ousted three years ago.

Photo: Iraq: gangs kill 25 people in Mosul

Police said they were not sure if the attacks were carried out by the Sunni Arab-led insurgency, common criminals or sectarian death squads. Increasing numbers of Iraqi deaths over the past months have been attributed to revenge killings carried out by Shiite-backed militia organizations or Sunni Arabs who have banded together in retribution.

The outburst of killings was first reported Tuesday morning. Before the day was out, 10 people were either killed in shootings or found dead. The killings persisted Wednesday, with eight people, including a child and a college student, shot to death by nightfall. The violence continued Thursday.

Industry Minister Fowzi Hariri told state-run Iraqiya TV on Thursday that 64 people were abducted, two of whom were killed trying to escape. Thirty people, mainly women and children, were freed shortly after the kidnapping, leaving 15 still believed in captivity, according to the AP.

A National Security Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, told The Associated Press that several insurgents holding the kidnap victims were captured during the raid.