World

Mass Grave Found Near Baghdad

November 6, 2007 / 6:41 AM EST / CBS/AP

Iraqi soldiers discovered 22 bodies in a mass grave in the Lake Tharthar area northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

The bodies were found Saturday during a joint operation with U.S. forces, the military said in a statement.

Last month, Iraqi police reported finding 25 bullet-riddled bodies, some decapitated, in a mass grave in Nadhum village, close to Lake Tharthar. At the time, police said it appeared the victims had died within the past three months.

But an Anbar provincial police official, Col. Jubair Rashid Naief, said Tuesday that he believed these were not the same bodies, and that this was a second mass grave found in the area in less than a month.

Naief said the bodies were found in a drainage canal, and that some of the victims were wearing heavy clothes - indicating they may have been killed last winter.

After the discovery, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an operation Sunday, including ground raids and air assaults targeting al Qaeda in the area, the U.S. statement said.

About 30 suspects were detained, it said. Two car bomb facilities and a number of weapons caches were also found, it added.

Iraqi officials are investigating the mass grave, trying to identify the bodies and notify families. The statement did not say how long the victims were believed to have been dead.

Meanwhile, Turkey's president said Tuesday his country "has decided" on how to proceed against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and had informed the United States.

The U.S. and Iraq have been pressing Turkey to avoid a major cross-border attack on Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, rebel bases in northern Iraq out of fear such an incursion would bring instability to what has been one of the calmest areas in Iraq.

President Abdullah Gul did not specify what decision had been made regarding an attack, but made clear that Turkey feels that the PKK is leading to instability in the region itself.

"Iraq's stability cannot be limited to fighting terrorism in Baghdad or other regions," he said. "The terrorist organization in the north is also disrupting Iraq's stability."

(AP)

The comments come the day after President Bush met in Washington with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seen at left, and promised him that the United States would share military intelligence in the hunt for PKK rebels.

Gul said part of Erdogan's goal in his trip was to share with the United States the decision that the country has made on how to deal with the rebels.

"Turkey had made its preparations and had decided what to do on the issue before the prime minister left," he said.

PKK rebels have killed more than 40 Turks in hit-and-run attacks over the past month, mainly soldiers, raising the public pressure on Erdogan to retaliate.

Tens of thousands of Turkish troops are poised at the southeastern border with Iraq, and experts speculate that if there is to be an attack this year, it must come soon before the winter weather descends upon the mountainous region making military action nearly impossible.

Both the U.S. and the European Union have labeled the PKK a terrorist organization, and Bush called the rebels "an enemy of Turkey, a free Iraq and the United States."

In addition to White House worries that a Turkish incursion into Iraq could bring instability to the area, it also is concerned an incursion could set a precedent for other countries, such as Iran, that have conflicts with Kurdish rebels.

Yet, when asked about the possibility of Turkey attacking Iraq, Bush dismissed the question as hypothetical.

He tried instead to assure Turkey that the U.S. is providing support.

"It's fine to speculate about what may or may not happen," Bush said. "But nothing can happen until you get good intelligence. We need to know where people are hiding, and we need to know what they're doing."

Erdogan said his government has the authority to mount an incursion into Iraq if necessary. But he gave no further indication of his intentions.

In other developments:

The colonel investigating a New York Army National Guard soldier accused of killing two superior officers is recommending that the soldier face the death penalty if convicted. Col. Lee Deneke says the case of Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez should remain a capital case. But Deneke says Martinez should not face charges of giving printers and copiers to an Iraqi national. He says that charge would be difficult to prove without the testimony of the Iraqi. The colonel also says the charge is insignificant to the murder charges.

Iran is dismissing the possibility of a U.S. military strike, and a Foreign Ministry spokesman says his country is ready to consider a new round of talks with Washington on security in Iraq. The Bush administration has held three sessions of ambassador-level talks with Iran about Iraq since May. But the U.S. has also kept up pressure on Tehran over its alleged support for Shiite militias in Iraq and for allegedly developing nuclear weapons. Iran has continually denied both charges.

U.S. forces killed five suspects and detained 30 others Monday in raids against al Qaeda in Iraq, the military said. In one operation northwest of Baqouba, American troops came under fire while searching for a suspected sniper who was also accused of emplacing roadside bombs, the military said in a statement. Soldiers called for support from helicopter gunships, which fired and killed three men - one of whom was wearing a suicide vest, the military said. Two suspects were captured there, along with multiple grenades and ammunition, it said.