'Don't enter Baghdad': Wave of murder-kidnappings grips Iraq capital

A wave of sectarian murder-kidnappings has gripped the Iraqi capital with over a dozen bodies appearing in Baghdad's side streets and rubbish skips.

The killings reportedly carried out by the powerful Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilisation Forces] militias seem to target mainly Sunni residents of the city, according to security and medical sources.

A Baghdad police chief told The New Arab on Tuesday that 17 dead bodies had been found over the past two days in various districts in the city.

"The majority of the victims were documented being abducted by armed groups dressed in the uniform of the security forces," the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

"Four of the bodies were found near a school in the al-Saidiya neighbourhood with notes attached to them, reading: 'Do not enter Baghdad'," he said.

A medical source said that among the of the victims were two brothers who had reportedly been abducted from their homes in southern Baghdad by armed men wearing Iraqi military garb.

Human rights groups have long accused the Shia militias of carrying out abuses against Sunnis during the ongoing battle against the Islamic State group [IS].

Set up in mid-2014, the Hashd al-Shaabi is made up of volunteer soldiers who have fought alongside the Iraqi military to retake Iraqi cities from IS.

Although they operate separately from the federal army, they enjoy their own budget, supplies and facilities and are also heavily backed by regional power Iran.

In December, militiamen abducted a female journalist from her Baghdad home after she published an article criticising the paramilitary forces. They later released her after just over a week.

Member of parliament Abdul Karim Abtan told The New Arab that the wave of sectarian kidnappings and killings has become "impossible to stay silent about".

"We have been receiving reports about this on a near daily basis," Abtan said.

He accused local police of ignoring the incidents and allowing the militias to act without impunity.

"We do not know for certain who is killing and dumping the bodies but there has been great injustice done to Sunnis in the Baghdad belt and in Sunni-majority areas," he added.