BAGHDAD, April 3, 2010 (AFP) - Gunmen in army uniforms swooped on a village south of Baghdad at dawn today, stormed three houses and shot dead 20 men and five women from families linked to an anti-Qaeda militia, officials said.
“Men wearing uniforms and driving vehicles similar to those used by the army stormed three houses in the village of Sufia, in the region of Hour Rajab, and killed 25 people, including five women,” said an interior ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said the killers tied up their victims before carrying out the massacre.
A defence ministry official confirmed the details of the attack and the toll.
According to the defence ministry official, the families were part of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement, known as the “Sons of Iraq” by the US army, which joined American and Iraqi forces in 2006 and 2007 to fight against Al-Qaeda and its supporters, leading to a dramatic fall in violence across the country. |