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Eyewitnesses in the city of Tarmiya observed a public execution of an alleged member of al-Qaeda.
Three cars stopped suddenly in the side of the road on Thursday and a man was snatched from one of the vehicles.
According to the eyewitnesses in the small city about 15 miles north of Baghdad on the Tigris River, the men filing out of the automobiles formed an impromptu "court" and the presiding "judge" ordered that the apprehended man be executed on the crime of "treason," with no further explanations handed down.
The masked gunmen ordered a young man, identified as a new recruit, to execute the handcuffed man. The victim’s body fell slack as the volunteer fired his pistol.
The group sped off, leaving the corpse by the roadside.
The whole operation lasted no more than 10 minutes, the eyewitnesses said.
Sources could not identify the affiliation of the hit squad.
