Civil War

This is why Sadr is strong. After the beheading of 17 Shiite laborers, the local politicians didn't seek government forces and "security," they sought out Sadr, his militias, and revenge.

On Friday, 17 Shiite laborers who had been hired to prune date palm trees in Duluiyah were kidnapped, police said. The workers' headless bodies were found outside the town later that day.

Shiite leaders in Balad said they responded to the farmworkers' killings by asking a Baghdad office of Moqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shiite cleric, to send militiamen and weapons.

"It is necessary to take a strong stand, so that such killings will not be repeated, and so we can take our revenge," said Taysser Musawi, a Shiite cleric in Balad.

Scores of militia fighters went to Balad in answer to the call, and residents said they targeted the city's Sunni minority.

"The armed men, using loudspeakers, ordered Sunnis to leave the city of Balad within 24 hours or they will face death," said Ali, the hospital official. "The city now is in the hands of the armed men and the militias."

According to AP, the death toll in Balad is 46 Sunnis so far.