Survivors of mass abduction recount torture, targeting of Sunnis [View All]

[ECH1969]

Shiite militiamen who snatched scores of Iraqis from a government office divided their captives by sect and freed only those who could prove they weren't Sunnis, survivors of the incident said in interviews Sunday.

At least 64 men abducted last week in the brash daylight attack on a scholarship office in Baghdad remained unaccounted for Sunday, and the Sunni minister of higher education repeated a threat to resign unless the Shiite-led government shows progress in tracking down his missing employees.

If the kidnappings end badly, and the higher education minister resigns, Iraqi officials fear it could have a domino effect on other Sunni politicians, potentially leading to deeper sectarian turmoil and the collapse of the U.S.-backed unity government.

"If I don't see any progress on this, I'll be forced to take action, including my resignation," Abed Dhiab al-Ujaili, the higher education minister, said in a telephone interview. "It's my responsibility to my people and my employees to show that I am standing beside them on this. What they've experienced is a nightmare."

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