IRAQ: Gunmen open fire in southern Baghdad killing more than 20 people

Record ID: 352247

  • Title: IRAQ: Gunmen open fire in southern Baghdad killing more than 20 people
  • Date: 4th April 2010
  • Summary: RASHEED DISTRICT IN SOUTHERN BAGHDAD, IRAQ (APRIL 3, 2010) (REUTERS) DRIVING SHOT TO SUFIYA VILLAGE WHERE GUNMEN KILLED 24 PEOPLE IN SUNNI MUSLIM ENCLAVE IN AL-RASHEED DISTRICT IN SOUTHERN BAGHDAD IRAQI SOLDIER STANDING AT VILLAGE WHERE ATTACK TOOK PLACE MILITARY VEHICLES DEPLOYING AT SCENE OF ATTACK SCENE OF ATTACK PEOPLE GATHERING NEAR VEHICLE AT SCENE OF ATTACK WOM
  • Embargoed: 19th April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA4RS8Z6JRTWC6BV5G9MBJVPDDI
  • Story Text: At least 24 people were killed in a shooting in a Sunni enclave in Baghdad when gunmen stormed a village, said authorities.
    Gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed three houses in a Sunni Muslim village in southern Baghdad and killed at least two dozen people including women and children, Iraqi authorities said.
    At least seven people were left alive after the slaughter, their hands tied behind their backs, Baghdad security plan Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said.
    The attack occurred late on Friday in a Sunni enclave in the Rasheed district of the Iraqi capital. A police source said the gunmen handcuffed the victims and shot them in the head.
    Moussawi said some of the victims were members of the Iraqi security forces and others of the Sons of Iraq, a group of Sunni former insurgents who joined the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to fight al Qaeda militants and are credited with helping turn the tide of the Iraq war.
    Iraqi and U.S. soldiers rushed into Sufiya village and deployed hundreds of soldiers, conducting an investigation to reach reasons behind attack.
    "We are in the place where the attack occurred, we have conducted an investigation and we have met the relatives of victims to know what happened last night .We also met a number of security personnel and checked the checkpoints in the area . We put our hand on the glitch and we arrested more than 24 suspects who admitted being part of this operation, the investigation is still ongoing." General Mohammed al-Askri , spokesman of Iraqi defence minister told reporters.
    Violence has fallen significantly in the last two years but security officials had warned of a possible rise in attacks due to tensions surrounding Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, which produced no clear winner and promised weeks of difficult negotiations to form a new government.
    The tight race highlighted Iraq's sectarian divide after an election Iraqis hoped would produce stability after years of sectarian warfare.
    A security source said 10 to 15 gunmen in pickup trucks were involved in the attack and targeted the victims because they were loyal to the government against al Qaeda.
    The 24 victims were members of three different families, and included at least five women, a security source said.
    A Reuters TV cameraman counted 25 bodies at a local hospital.
    Moussawi said authorities had arrested 25 people and sealed off the area to conduct a search for other suspects.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register