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Bombings kill at least 60 in Iraq
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-18 20:28
Saad al-Ezi, an Iraqi journalist with The Boston Globe, said from inside
Hamra hotel that it was clearly the target.
"They were trying to penetrate by displacing the blast barriers behind the
hotel and then get to the hotel," he said. "I woke up to a huge explosion which
broke all the glass and displaced all the window and doors frames."
Prominent Sunni Arabs have complained for months about abuse by interior
ministry forces, whom they claim have been infiltrated by Shiite militias. The
Sunnis called for an international investigation after the Jadriyah detainees
were found.
The government denies the militia allegations.
"I reject torture and I will punish those who perform torture," said Interior
Minister Bayn Jabr, a Shiite. "No one was beheaded, no one was killed" — a clear
reference to the beheadings of foreign and Iraqi hostages by insurgents
including al-Qaida's Iraq wing.
He also said "those who are supporting terrorism are making the
exaggerations" about torture and that only seven detainees showed signs of
abuse.
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