Islamist militants impose will in some Iraq towns [View All]

[sabra]

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-08-22T214041Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-213493-1.xml

Islamist militants impose will in some Iraq towns

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Despite repeated offensives U.S. troops still do not control of parts of northwestern Iraq and Islamist militants all but govern some towns, dispensing summary justice with public executions, residents say.

"There are no U.S. forces, no Iraqi army or police," said an Iraqi reporter who works for Reuters in the region. He visited the town of Haditha some days after a U.S. operation this month and did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.

"Three days ago, three people were executed on Haqlaniya bridge after being accused of being spies," he said, citing residents of Haditha with whom he keeps in contact and referring to a bridge that connects the town with another across a river.

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However, a reporter for Reuters and other Iraqi correspondents in Anbar province, which covers much of western Iraq, provided accounts similar to a detailed report on conditions in Haditha in Britain's Guardian newspaper on Monday by a journalist who spent time there.