Tal Afar under indefinite 'total curfew' following threat of chemical attacks

Above: Aftermath of the bombing in Tal Afar on March 27th which killed at least 152 and wounded 500 others. Shi'ite police went on a killing spree the day after the bombing, pulling from their houses and slaughtering up to 70 Sunni men. 18 police were arrested, then released. There has been no news since on any possible prosecutions.

TAL AFAR, Iraq, April 20 (Reuters) - Authorities in the volatile Iraqi town of Tal Afar have imposed an indefinite curfew after militants distributed leaflets threatening to carry out chemical attacks, local officials said on Friday.

Dozens of families have fled the religiously mixed town in northwestern Iraq in recent days after militants urged Sunni Muslim residents to leave the area...

"We have imposed a total curfew from April 19th ... to calm people because these statements are not serious. We do not think that these groups have the capability to launch attacks using chemical weapons," said Najim al Jibouri, Tal Afar's mayor.

"These groups only want to scare people," he said.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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