Gunmen dressed in Iraqi army uniforms have killed four members of the government-backed Sunni Sahwa militia after dragging them from a mosque near Baghdad after Monday night prayers, security sources said.
The killings followed bombings across the country in which at least 68 people died in apparently co-ordinated attacks. The authorities blamed Sunni Islamist al-Qaida affiliates intent on a show of force before the withdrawal of US troops by the end of year.
"Individuals from the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), wearing army uniforms, entered al-Tawab mosque and called names of people from a list. They took worshippers and shot them," Qasim al-Hamdani, a former Sahwa militia member, said.
An interior ministry source said the gunmen left a note near the bodies in which they claimed to belong to the ISI
The killing happened in Sayafiya, 12 miles (20km) south of Baghdad. Evening prayers are particularly associated with the holy month of Ramadan, which began two weeks ago.
"The army brought us four bodies of Sahwa members and three wounded. At the beginning we thought the three wounded were also killed because they were badly injured," a policeman who works in a hospital in a nearby town said.
The Sahwa militia, or Awakening Council, is made up of former insurgents from the Sunni minority who turned against al-Qaida. It was formed in late 2006 – mostly by Sunni tribal sheikhs, with the help of the US military – during sectarian bloodshed in which tens of thousands of people were killed.
Al-Qaida managed to regroup forces in the southern parts of Baghdad, forcing many Sahwa fighters to leave amid fears of reprisals, Hamdani said.
"We sacrifice our lives and put our families in danger, but we've got nothing in return from the government," he added. "Leaving Sahwa was my best choice to spare myself a bullet in the head."
Sahwa militia members work with Iraqi forces in manning security checkpoints in the mainly Sunni areas across the country.
The integration of former Sahwa fighters into the government is widely considered a key to stabilising Iraq amid concerns that the new Shia-led government is not carrying out a promise to hire them.
Last week, ISI warned members of Sahwa to rejoin the insurgent ranks or face consequences.
Al-Qaida in Iraq has suffered severe blows to its लीडरशिप
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