Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi vowed to prevent the return of sectarian violence in Iraq as he travelled to Salahuddin province a day after eight men were abducted and murdered.
At least 12 men were kidnapped around noon on Saturday in the Farahatiya district of Salahuddin north of Baghdad, Governor Ammar Jabre said. An hour later, eight bodies were dumped in an open area with gunshot wounds to the heads and chests, he said. Four others were still missing as of Sunday.
No group has claimed responsibility and investigations are ongoing.
“There will be no return to sectarian killings of an Iraqi against another for political purposes. We passed that hurdle together and we will not go back,” Mr Al Kadhimi tweeted as he chaired an urgent meeting of the National Security Council late on Saturday and denounced the attack as a terrorist action.
On Sunday morning, he arrived in Salahuddin Province and met the families of the murdered men. He was accompanied by security officials, the ministers of defence and interior as well as the head of the PMF, Faleh Al Fayadh.
“Our message to the citizens of Salahuddin is that the government will protect them,” the prime minister said as he promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Pictures of the dead men, their hands bound behind their backs, flooded social media soon after the incident, enraging the men's Sunni community.
Iraqi politicians are struggling to control extremist groups, including ISIS, as well as rogue militias operating loosely under the banner of the government-sanctioned paramilitary umbrella group, known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (or Hashed Al Shaabi).
Sunni politician Muthana Al Samarie called for all outside armed groups to leave, saying “this is a new crime added to the list of crimes carried out by the outlawed militant groups.”
“All militant groups that are linked to political parties or those trying to be linked to the Popular Mobilisation Forces [state-sanctioned paramilitary troops] must leave our province immediately,” Mr Al Samarie added, referring to the Iran-backed, largely Shiite militias.
He said that only security forces made up of residents of the province should stay and demanded the investigation be concluded in no more than 72 hours, otherwise all options were on the table "to take political and legal actions."
The PMF was established in 2014 to fight ISIS militants who then controlled nearly one-third of the country. They have since gained a powerful foothold in Iraq's security structure, with some operating outside the control of the Iraqi government.
Mr Al Kadhimi has recently vowed to rein in the militias, including those backed by Iran, but has so far failed to do so.
Despite the defeat of ISIS in late 2017, some Shiite militias – mainly those backed by Iran – are still deployed in Sunni areas and near the border with Syria.
Sunnis and international human rights watchdogs have accused the Shiite militias of human rights violations and harassment of Sunnis during and after the fight against ISIS.
The militias and previous Iraqi governments have acknowledged some of the violations but described them as individual acts.
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Specs
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tomorrow 2021
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Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
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Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
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Tuesday fixtures:
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COMPANY PROFILE
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
GOLF’S RAHMBO
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
