IRAQ

Sidyney Morning Herald: Bloody retribution

The shame of the father ... tribal sheiks forced Salem Kerbul, above, to kill his son Sabah, whom they accused of collaborating with the Americans. Photo: Jason South

The thousands of Iraqis working for the US administration have been declared collaborators. When they're caught by the resistance, the punishment is unthinkable. Paul McGeough reports.

Sabah Kerbul's executioners were his father and his brother. Most were in their beds when he was killed. But all members of the 27-year-old's extended family, living in adjoining properties on this remote bend in the Tigris, 120 kilometres north of Baghdad, knew the hideous tribal drama unfolding in a corner of their orange grove when they heard five sharp shots being fired from AK47s shortly after 2am.