clari.world.mideast.iraq

BASRA, Iraq, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Authorities in Basra, Iraq,
say at least 100 women have been killed in the last year and doctors
and teachers are still disappearing.
Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, largely has been
self-governing since British troops withdrew last September. Basra
has Iraq's best economic base and little ethnic tension, yet the
port city remains deeply troubled, The New York Times reported
Saturday.
The women killed in the last year likely were deemed impious
by fundamentalist Shiite militiamen, who also target doctors,
teachers and other professionals, the Times said.
"Most of the killings are done by gunmen in police cars,"
said Sheik Khadem al-Ribat, a Basra tribal leader.
Two dozen Shiite political parties and their militias
continue to compete for control of the region's oil, seaport profits
and smuggling ventures across the Iranian border, the Times
reported.
"They have these overlapping spheres of gangsterism and
politics, militias and legitimate businesses, and legitimate
politics," said Rob Tinline, a spokesman for the British Provincial
Reconstruction Team.