Report: Violence continues in Basra

BASRA, Iraq, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Authorities in Basra, Iraq, say at least 100 women have been killed in the last year and doctors and teachers are still disappearing.

Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, largely has been self-governing since British troops withdrew last September. Basra has Iraq's best economic base and little ethnic tension, yet the port city remains deeply troubled, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The women killed in the last year likely were deemed impious by fundamentalist Shiite militiamen, who also target doctors, teachers and other professionals, the Times said.

"Most of the killings are done by gunmen in police cars," said Sheik Khadem al-Ribat, a Basra tribal leader.

Two dozen Shiite political parties and their militias continue to compete for control of the region's oil, seaport profits and smuggling ventures across the Iranian border, the Times reported.

"They have these overlapping spheres of gangsterism and politics, militias and legitimate businesses, and legitimate politics," said Rob Tinline, a spokesman for the British Provincial Reconstruction Team.