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Iraqis kill clan members for informing on al Qaeda

11 October 2010 19:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Gunmen in Iraqi military uniforms broke into the homes of their own clan members on Monday and killed four people for informing on al Qaeda, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
Separately, a senior police officer was wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad, as daily violence continued to rattle a country struggling to form a new government seven months after an inconclusive election.
In the latest attack, nine gunmen stormed the homes of two families in al-Sila village south of Baghdad, seized five men and shot them execution-style on the shore of a nearby lake, said a security source. One survived and was hospitalized.
"This area was an al Qaeda stronghold before," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It is inhabited by one tribe, but it is divided into two parts, with one loyal to al Qaeda and the other against it."
The source said the gunmen walked into the village with a list of targets including the victims, who had been supplying authorities with information on al Qaeda.
"The attackers were from the same tribe," the source said.
Sunni insurgents frequently target those who have switched sides to support the authorities, including the Sahwa, a Sunni militia group credited with helping turn the tide of violence unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
An interior ministry official had earlier said that the victims belonged to Sahwa but the security official said an ensuing investigation established they were civilians.
The area was once controlled by Sunni insurgents who are now trying to reassert their influence. The region was an al Qaeda stronghold during sectarian carnage in 2006-2007.
Security has gradually improved but attacks on government officials, police, Sahwa and civilians still occur every day around the country.
Violence remains a big obstacle for foreign investors in Iraq, which has huge oil reserves. The prolonged wrangling over the formation of a new government is another worry.
In Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck a car carrying Major General Abdul Munim Saeed, head of the Interior Ministry’s evidence department, wounding him and killing his driver.
Later in the day, a group of gunmen opened fire on a currency exchange office in central Baghdad, killing five people and escaping with money, an interior ministry source said.
In Falluja, west of Baghdad, three gunmen stormed the house of a policeman and killed him in a pre-dawn attack, police said.
And in Qaim, also west of Baghdad, a roadside bomb wounded four policemen, police sai