By The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The bodies of about 50 Iraqi soldiers were found on a remote road in eastern Iraq, apparently the victims of an ambush as they were heading home on leave, Iraqi authorities said Sunday. Also, a State Department security officer was killed during a mortar or rocket attack at a U.S. base near the Baghdad airport
Interior Ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul-Rahman said the Iraqi soldiers were believed to have been killed about sundown Saturday on a road about 95 miles east of Baghdad near the Iranian border.
There were conflicting reports on the exact number of dead, whether they were members of the Iraqi army or the Iraqi National Guard and whether they were all killed execution-style.
Iraqi government spokeswoman Maha Malik quoted witnesses as saying insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at about two vehicles carrying the unarmed troops.
Gen. Walid al-Azzawi, commander of the Diyala provincial police, said the bodies were laid out in four rows each, with 12 bodies in each row.
"After inspection, we found out that they were shot after being ordered to lay down on the earth," he said.
Al-Azzawi said he believed the soldiers had been training at the Kirkush military camp northeast of Baghdad.
An Associated Press reporter on the scene reported seeing the burned frames of two minibuses. Blood stains were visible on the ground, along with human remains. Witnesses said the attackers stole some buses. Police said they had found 51 bodies from the attack place.
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