BAGHDAD, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Iraq's Interior Ministry has begun an internal investigation following U.S. military claims that a police 'death squad' has been killing Sunni Arabs.
U.S. Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson announced that 22 Iraqi policemen were arrested during the course of a mission to kill a Sunni target.
"We have found one of the death squads. They are part of the police force," Peterson was quoted by the BBC. This is the first concrete evidence of state death squads in action, after a stream of unverifiable claims.
Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal said Thursday his office had launched an inquiry in the matter, and sought to determine whether the 22 suspects are employed by the Interior Ministry or merely purport to be.
Hundreds of dead Sunni Arab Iraqis have been discovered since the outset of the 2003 war that are believed to be extra-judicial killings. Four unidentified men were found in a Shiite district of Baghdad Wednesday who had been handcuffed, blindfolded and shot in the head.
Similar tactics have been employed by insurgents against Iraqis working with international forces or the Iraqi government.
