MOSUL, Iraq, Feb 12 (AFP) - The bodies of 14 Iraqis were found on Saturday in and around Iraq's restive northern city of Mosul, medical and security sources said.
Six of the dead were Kurds from the village of Kasr Rok, near Zakho in the northernmost tip of Iraq, who worked for a Baghdad-based security firm.
Their bodies were discovered in Sallamia, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Mosul, Doctor Mohammed Shawkat said.
"The six men were apparently caught in an ambush and shot dead as they were driving towards Baghdad," a local security source said.
Five other bodies were found in Mosul's eastern Al-Intissar neighbourhood, said Doctor Ahmed Abdallah Rajab.
Messages found on the bodies accused the victims of being "atheist soldiers who participated in the assault against Fallujah," an AFP correspondent reported.
In November, US and Iraqi government forces launched the largest military operation in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion in a bid to wrest the western hotspot of Fallujah from rebel control.
Three other bodies were found in the Christian village of Bartila, 10 miles north of Mosul, said Rajab.
The three "victims were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs," he said, adding that no ID documents were found on the bodies.
02/12/2005 20:05 GMT - AFP