Street Killings Underscore Iraq's Rising Unrest The mob strung up the suspected terrorist's shirtless body by the feet and set it ablaze on a street on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, a tire placed underneath to fuel the flames. In grainy footage of the immolation this week, police appeared to do little to stop the vigilantes' street justice. In another video issued in recent days, jihadi militants who took over a major highway in western Iraq stop three Syrian truck drivers, interrogate them, then gun them down, believing them to be members of the Alawite sect. The two incidents, confirmed by police, illustrate in stark terms the increasing brutality of the unrest gripping Iraq, fueling complaints that security forces are unable to contain it. Violence inside Iraq has accelerated in recent months to levels not seen since 2008, with more than 4,000 people killed since the start of April. The growing unrest - marked by frequent coordinated car bombings and other attacks blamed mostly on al-Qaida's local branch targeting police, the military and often Shiite Muslim areas - is intensifying fears Iraq is heading back toward the widespread Sunni-Shiite sectarian killing that peaked in 2006 and 2007. Yet another barrage of al-Qaida-claimed explosions struck in and around Baghdad on Wednesday, when attacks killed at least 82 and wounded more than 200. The mob's immolation of a man believed to be a bomber in Baghdad on that day suggests that at least some Iraqis have had enough and are starting to take matters into their own hands. In grainy footage taken by cell phone and posted online, dozens of people can be seen watching the man's body burn, many of them filming it with mobile phones. They far outnumber the police, who appear to be trying to control the crowd but do nothing to stop the burning itself. Saad Maan Ibrahim, an Interior Ministry spokesman, confirmed that the incident shown in the video happened Wednesday in Jisr Diyala, a largely Shiite area on the edges of Baghdad. Authorities previously told The Associated Press that two parked car bombs struck the neighborhood that morning, killing eight and wounding nearly two dozen. Two police officials said the man in the video was seen getting out of a car that later exploded. One bomb had already gone off, and onlookers grew suspicious when he parked his car and then ran away after being spotted, one of the officers said. An angry mob caught up with him beat him to death, then set his body alight, they said. The two officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. Ibrahim said an investigation into the incident is underway, but had no answer why police appeared to allow the burning to continue. "But for sure we reject such acts," he said. Iraqis, regardless of their sectarian background, are weary of the terrorist attacks that have battered the country in the since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. While some who have seen the video recoiled at the desecration, many seemed willing to accept the crowd's judgment that the man was a militant getting his due after a decade of bloodshed in the country. "That guy got a fair punishment, except it's maybe 10 times less than what he deserved," said Hassan Sabih, a 28-year old Shiite who owns an Internet cafe in Baghdad. He said he hoped the video would deter would-be terrorists. "The security forces aren't able to protect the people," Sabih said. Ammar Ahmed, a 34-year old Sunni baker, had a similar reaction.