Iraqi seized at wedding, later found beheaded

BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Iraqi groom celebrating on the dance floor was dragged off and later found beheaded in a field after armed men showed up at his wedding.

Gunmen took away merchant Khudair al-Tamimi, 26, along with his father, uncle, cousin and a guest at the party Thursday in Muqdadiya, 50 miles northeast of Baghdad.

Their bodies were discovered Friday, beheaded and dumped in farmlands just north of the town, police said.

A raging insurgency and rising sectarian bloodshed can turn the joys of life in other countries into tragedies in Iraq, where the range of victims has been growing since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Italy to withdraw 1,100 troops in June

ROME — Italy will pull 1,100 of its troops from Iraq in June, the new government said Friday, giving its first specific numbers about the planned withdrawal.

"In June we will reduce our troops from 2,700 to 1,600," Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said during an evening television show.

His announcement came hours after he met with Premier Romano Prodi to map Italy's exit strategy from the U.S.-led coalition.

Most Italian troops in Iraq are in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. They are involved in training, security and reconstruction.

Killing Blair called "morally justified"

LONDON — Maverick British politician George Galloway has claimed it would be "morally justified" for an assassin to target Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he said he was not advocating an attempt, according to a magazine interview published Friday.

Galloway was quoted as saying an attack on Blair that caused no other casualties would be a justifiable response to Britain's support for the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"It would be entirely logical and explicable — and morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq as Blair did," the monthly GQ magazine quoted Galloway as saying.

However, if he knew anyone was planning such an attack, Galloway added, he would tell police.

Compiled from The Associated Press and Reuters