The bodies of more than 50 Iraqis who were believed to have been taken hostage have been recovered from the Tigris River, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said today.
"More than 50 bodies have been brought out from the Tigris and we have the full names of those who were killed and those criminals who committed these crimes," Talabani said at a news briefing.
Talabani gave no details about when or where the victims were abducted or found, saying only that interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi would deal with the matter.
However, he provided the information in response to a question about the search for hostages reported seized from the Madain region, south of Baghdad.
Shiite leaders and government officials claimed last week that Sunni militants had abducted as many as 100 Shiite residents from the area, but when Iraqi forces moved into Madain, they found no captives.