The killing of a Sunni Arab student leader, abducted after heading two demonstrations against the election results, prompted accusations against militias loyal to the victorious Shia Islamists and their Kurdish allies in the interim government.

Anger flared around the university campus in Mosul after the body of Qusay Salaheddin, president of the student union, was identified.

He had been kidnapped on Thursday with one of his friends. The two bodies were found on Saturday, handcuffed and shot in the head.

No group claimed responsibility for the killing.