13 Iraqis taken, 11 killed near Baghdad

Gunmen dressed in Iraqi army uniforms swept into a village south of Baghdad early Friday, kidnapping 13 civilians and killing at least 11 of them, police said.

The attack occurred around 5 a.m. local time in Imam village, a predominantly Shiite town about 50 miles south of the Iraqi capital.

About two hours after the abduction, police found eleven bodies with gunshot wounds to the head and chest, and they were believed to be those who had been kidnapped, police and the Iraqi army said.

An Iraqi army spokesman acknowledged that the gunmen wore Iraqi army uniforms and drove military vehicles, but said they were not government soldiers.

"We did not have any duties in that area, and those vehicles do not belong to us," said 1st Lt. Murad al-Maamouri. "They are terrorists of course."

Al-Maamouri said Iraqi soldiers were patrolling the area on foot, searching for the other two captives.