TORONTO (NFTF.org) -- As the number of U.S. casualties persists (165 at press time), former Baathists in Iraq have started to see a wave of revenge killings targeting them. An Iraqi who managed to leave for the United Arab Emirates earlier this week told YellowTimes.org that the corpses of Baathists are starting to turn up in back streets and alleyways. He claims that more than 700 Baathists have been killed in Baghdad alone since April 9, when the infamous Saddam statue was toppled.

Although the figure could not be independently verified, other reporters in Iraq have described a surge in revenge killings saying it had been late in coming and surprised many Iraqis why it did not occur earlier.

Elsewhere in Iraq, northern Arab tribes have started to mobilize fierce anti-U.S. rallies as they charge U.S. troops with bias and partiality towards their Kurdish allies. Northern Iraq has seen fractitious fighting in recent days as Arabs and Kurds battle it out for control of strategic towns and villages.

YellowTimes.org correspondent Firas Al-Atraqchi drafted this report.