18 Iraqi officials ‘kidnapped’

Brig Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said the 14 bodies were found in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. He blamed al-Qaeda for the killings, and said Iraqi authorities would “chase those who assassinated these unarmed people.”

The group had threatened to kill the hostages within 24 hours if the Iraqi government did not hand over officers accused in the rape case, and release all Sunni women held in Iraqi prisons.

The claim surfaced on the Web early Friday, but it was unclear when the 24 hours began. “This blessed operation is a response to crimes carried out by those infidels in their fight against the Sunnis,” the statement said. “The latest of the crimes committed by these traitors was to rape our sister in religion.”

The web statement referred to the rape victim by her name, which identified her as Sunni. However, officials of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country’s largest Sunni group, said the woman used a false name when making the allegation and that she is in fact a Shi’ite. The party’s human rights office had been looking into the case.

Names of the officers involved in the case were not released, and it was unknown whether they were Sunni or Shi’ite.

The woman told Arab television stations that she was detained in a west Baghdad Sunni area on Feb 18 and assaulted by three officers. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi’ite, announced an investigation on Feb 19 but cleared the officers the next day, raising outrage among Sunnis.