In Iraq, 87 Bodies Found in 24 Hours

In Iraq, 87 Bodies Found in 24 Hours

The latest carnage appears to be almost wholly sectarian--that is, Shiite versus Sunni--and linked to last month’s destruction of an important Shiite shrine. The single-day death tally of 87 follows a spate of weekend attacks that claimed 58 lives.

AP:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Police in the past 24 hours have found the bodies of at least 87 people killed by execution-style shootings—a gruesome wave of apparent sectarian reprisal slayings, officials said Tuesday.

The dead included at least 29 bodies stacked in a mass grave in an eastern Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad.

The bloodshed—the second wave of mass killings in Iraq since bombers destroyed an important Shiite shrine last month—followed weekend attacks in a teeming Shiite slum in which 58 people died and more than 200 were wounded.

North of the capital, a roadside bomb exploded Tuesday among Shiite pilgrims headed on foot to the holy city Karbala, killing one person and injuring seven near Baqouba, police said.

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