Baghdad, 18 Aug-(ANA)-Gay Iraqi men are being murdered in what appears to be a co-ordinated campaign involving militia forces, the group Human Rights Watch says.
It says hundreds of gay men have been targeted and killed in Iraq since 2004.
The killings also account for deaths where families punish their own kin in order to avoid public shame.
The report says members of the Mehdi Army militia group are spearheading the campaign, but police are also accused - even though homosexuality is legal.
Witnesses say vigilante groups break into homes, pick people up in the street, interrogate them to extract the names of other potential victims, before murdering them. (ANA)
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