That’s the question Iraqi Alaa Mery is asking after six Shi’ite truck drivers were found dead Monday. They had sought refuge at a police station in the Sunni city of Fallujah when they couldn’t pay ransom to a gang of Syrians operating a shakedown operation. When their families couldn’t pay, they were turned over to a mob and killed.

Alaa Mery had gone to Fallujag to try to negotiate with the kidnappers. “Fallujah clerics and people made a big fuss regarding Abu Ghraib torture, but now they are killing and mutilating Muslims,” Mr. Mery said. “They are not resistance. They are a copy of Saddam.”