Six killed in Iraq attack

26 Nov 2009, 12:07 am   -   Source: AAP
Share This

Attackers broke into a house in Baghdad and slit the throats of two women in a killing in which four other people were gunned down, police said.

Unknown attackers on Wednesday broke into a house and slit the throats of two women in a brutal Iraqi killing in which four other people including a teenage girl were gunned down, police said.

The incident occurred in Mashada, 20km north of Baghdad, and, although the motive was unclear, a police officer based in nearby Tarmiyah said the victims may have been the targets of an "honour killing".

"Some of the men killed were members of the Sahwa (Awakening)," a militia founded by the US army, said the officer, who gave the toll on condition of anonymity.

The Sahwa, also known as The Sons of Iraq by American forces, are Sunni tribesmen who joined forces with the US military in 2006 to combat the fierce sectarian insurgency that had brought the country to the brink of civil war.

The movement is widely credited with turning the tide of the battle against al-Qaeda. Sahwa members have also been singled out by insurgents as being legitimate targets.

Tarmiyah was once a stronghold of al-Qaeda but fighters were later pushed back by members of the Awakening.

The latest attack follows a similar incident just over a week ago in a village near Baghdad that saw 13 members of a tribe headed by a Sahwa leader gunned down.

Earlier on Wednesday, two bombs within minutes of each other exploded at a restaurant in the southern shrine city of Karbala, wounding at least 26 people, police and medical officials said.

The first bomb targeted diners inside the restaurant in the heart of the city around 9am (1700 AEDT), causing several injuries, police said.

However, a second bomb minutes later, after an ambulance and medics had arrived to help the wounded, caused most of the casualties.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube