Iraq: Militants abduct and kill 20 soldiers in northern Iraq
Militants in northern Iraq ambushed an army convoy and abducted at least 20 soldiers before shooting them in the head, army officials said today - the latest in a growing series of execution-style attacks in the country.
The ambush took place yesterday near Ain al-Jahash in the northern province of Nineveh, one of the most unstable regions in Iraq and through which a long section of pipeline runs on its course from the Kirkuk oilfields to neighbouring Turkey.
Security officials said militants disguised as soldiers and driving army vehicles, presumably seized in previous attacks, had ambushed the convoy and abducted the conscripts, killing them en masse hours later.