Gunmen kill five family members in Iraq

Gunmen using silencers killed a town mayor's bodyguard and four of his women relatives in a house north of the Iraqi capital, security officials said on Sunday.

"Gunmen attacked the house of a bodyguard of the mayor of Tarmiyah," said police First Lieutenant Uday Sarhan. "They attacked the house at around 11:30 pm (2030 GMT) and killed five people."

Sarhan said the victims were Adnan Hezbar and four women from his family, but did not give further details. After carrying out the shootings, the attackers destroyed the house with explosives.

Hezbar was a bodyguard for Jassim Mohammed Saleh, mayor of Tarmiyah, a town 45 km north of Baghdad.

Violence in Iraq has declined since its peak in 2006 and 2007. According to official figures, 150 people were killed in February.
 

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