Eleven Family Members Killed In Iraq
Ambush
BAQOUBAH, Iraq (AP) - Nov 6,
2005- Eleven members of a Kurdish Shiite family were killed Saturday when gunmen
sprayed their minibus with automatic weapons' fire northeast of Baghdad, police
said. Three other family members were wounded, police added.
The relatives were returning to their home in the Baghdad area after visiting a
family cemetery near Balad Ruz, about 80 kilometres northeast of the capital,
police said. The dead included a baby girl, police said.
Shiite Muslims traditionally pay their respects to their dead during the Eid al-Fitr
holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan. The three-day holiday ends for most
Shiites on Sunday.
The motive for the attack was unclear, but tensions between Shiites and Sunnis
have been on the rise in the area, with extremists from each community targeting
the other.
On Oct. 29, a car bomb exploded in the centre of a Shiite village in the same
province, killing 20 people.
