BAQUBA, Iraq (AFP) — Two Shiite brothers abducted a month after their family returned to their home in a Sunni district of Iraq's central city of Baquba were found shot dead on Saturday, officials said.
Late Friday, gunmen broke into the home of Ali Hassan al-Shimmari, 27, and Ammar Hassan al-Shimmari, 30, in Baquba's Tahrir district and kidnapped them, a police officer told AFP.
Ahmed Fuad, a doctor at Baquba hospital said, "their bullet-riddled bodies were found this morning in the same district."
The family had fled from their home last year following intense sectarian clashes in the neighbourhood that was known to be an Al-Qaeda stronghold, but a dip in violence prompted them to return.
Hundreds of Shiite families fled Baquba and the surrounding province of Diyala in early 2006, but began trickling back last year as sectarian fighting appeared to ease.
US and Iraqi officials claim that Al-Qaeda militants unleashed a wave of kidnappings and killings in the area from 2006.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
