BAGHDAD — A Sunni politician and 12 other men, including some of his relatives, were killed execution-style over the weekend in a small village west of Baghdad.
The slayings in the area formerly controlled by insurgents — one of the key gateways to the capital — ignited fears that extremists could be making inroads in Sunni enclaves as U.S. troops withdraw and the ranks of local paramilitary forces established by the Americans thin out.
Iraqi officials did not blame a specific group for the slayings, but local residents said the murders bore the signature of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Iraqi authorities said a band of assailants wearing Iraqi Army uniforms kidnapped the men about midnight Sunday from their homes in the villages of Abid and Khodeir Zaidan in the Abu Ghraib district.
Hamid Salam Thamir, the head of the Iraqi Islamic Party in the area, was among those killed, officials said.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited U.S. troops in Iraq on Monday, thanking them for the sacrifices they and their families are making.
Schwarzenegger planned to work out with some of the troops today, said his spokesman, Aaron McLear. McLear said the governor also hopes to meet with Iraqi officials.
