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Iraq raid to free Shia hostages (BBC, 4/17/05)

Iraqi and US troops have launched an operation in the central Iraqi town of Madain, where Sunni rebels are holding a number of Shia residents hostage.

The rebels seized an unknown number of Shia on Friday and said they would kill them unless all Shias left the town.

US and Iraqi forces have taken up positions around Madain, poised to retake the town.

Iraqi officials say this is the latest in a spate of tit-for-tat kidnappings in the Sunni-Shia mixed town.

The BBC's correspondent in Baghdad Jim Muir said: "Government commandos are ringing the town and preparing to move in with the Americans in the background, holding the ring."

Even for extremist lunatics, this seems an incredibly stupid tactic: attacking civilians, embarrassing fellow Sunni, giving the government a chance to prove itself, etc.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 17, 2005 10:17 AM