19 Bodies Left in Iraqi Soccer Stadium

ABC News

Iraqis: 19 Bodies Left in Soccer Stadium

Iraqi Reporter, Residents Say Bodies of 19 Men Left in Soccer Stadium Northwest of Baghdad

The Associated Press

Apr. 20, 2005 - The bodies of 19 Iraqis were left Wednesday in a soccer stadium in this town 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, an Iraqi reporter and residents said.

Taxi driver Usama Rauf said he heard gunshots and rushed to the stadium where he saw the bodies lined up against a bloodstained wall. The reporter and other residents counted 19 bodies and said all appeared to have been shot.

Residents said they believed the victims all men in civilian clothes were soldiers abducted by insurgents as they headed home for the holiday Thursday marking the birthday of the prophet Muhammad.

The reporter did not see any military identification documents on the bodies and it was not immediately possible to confirm the claim. U.S. and Iraqi military officials had no immediate information on the incident.