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The non hostages of Madian

BBC:

Iraqi forces have reportedly found no hostages in the Iraqi town of Madain, where Sunni militants were said to have taken scores of Shia captive.

The security forces say no-one resisted their move to take control in the town.

A leading Sunni cleric has told the BBC the reports of hostage-taking were fabricated as an excuse to raid Madain.

Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had described the reported hostage-taking as a "dirty atrocity" designed to foment sectarian strife.

Reports say a force of 1,500 Iraqi soldiers, backed up by US forces, entered the town of Madain, some 30km south of Baghdad, in an area known as a stronghold of bandits and insurgents.

This story has been plagued by errors from its inception. Estimates of hostages ranged from 60 to 150 and now we find none, although an earlier report said 15 families had been freed. But, the Sunni clerics suggestion that the Iraqi forces needed an excuse to "raid" the town is silly. It is not like they are raping and pillaging. They are going in looking for victims and not finding any. At best this story sounds like a hysterical report was made to the Iraqi government, and people in the government who talked to reporters were equally hysterical. At this point it does not appear that Iraqi security forces have done anything but act responsibly and professionally.