Imam, Policeman’s Wife Beheaded in Iraq

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Iraqi officials say unidentified gunmen stormed the house of a prominent Sunni cleric north of Baghdad Thursday and decapitated him before setting his body on fire.

Authorities say Jabar Saleh al-Jabouri ran a medical clinic that treated wounded members of the local anti-al-Qaida militia.

In a separate attack, four men wearing women’s clothes

entered the home of a policeman in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, and beheaded his wife after they failed to find the officer.

In another development, Iraqi officials said four prisoners with links to al-Qaida escaped from a Baghdad detention center late Wednesday.

Officials said it is not clear how the four managed to escape from a U.S.-controlled section of Karkh Prison, formerly called Camp Cropper.

U.S. officials confirmed the escape, saying the military is working with Iraqi forces to investigate the incident and recapture the individuals involved.

Some information in this story was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.