Iraq Watch: October 15, 2006

Balad Region Besieged by Violence

Sectarian violence erupted Saturday and continued on through Sunday in the religiously mixed area in and around the city of Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad.

The bloodletting began following the kidnapping and execution of some 17 Shiite laborers whose decapitated bodies were discovered Friday in the city's outskirts.

Shortly thereafter, Shiite militiamen launched a series of reprisal attacks against the areas Sunni Arab populace.

Many of the militia members are purportedly aligned with the Mahdi Army, the notorious militia loyal to maverick Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Shiite attackers reportedly swept the city, setting up ad-hoc checkpoints and going door-to-door in search of Sunnis.

Balad, positioned inside the infamous "Sunni Triangle," is a Shiite-dominated city home to some 100,000 residents. The metropolis is surrounded by a plethora of predominately Sunni towns and villages, however.

The AP puts the total death toll at 63 while the Washington Post reports that at least 80 people have been killed so far in the tit-for-tat violence.