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| Iraq |
| Gunmen storm Baghdad money exchange, kill 5 |
| 2010-10-12 |
| [Arab News] Gunmen using pistols fitted with silencers stormed a money exchange office in central Storied Baghdad on Monday, killing five people and wounding three in a brazen afternoon robbery, police officials said. The heist came just hours after attackers wearing military uniforms raided the homes of several anti-Al-Qaeda Sunni fighters in Iraq before dawn, killing four men in an execution-style slaying. Violence has dropped in Iraq, but criminal activity has been on the rise, with a spate of brash daylight robberies of banks, jewelers and financial institutions across the country this year. Many of the heists have been blamed on bully boys, who are said to be short on cash and seeking ways to fund their operations. Insurgents also frequently target security forces and their allies to undermine confidence in the country's Shiite-dominated leadership. Those killed in Monday's heist at the Al-Warka exchange in Baghdad's busy commercial area around Rashid Street included its owner, his business partner and three customers. The maimed were bystanders, police officials said. It was not immediately clear how much cash the assailants made away with. No one claimed Monday's heist but declarations of responsibility for robberies of smaller financial offices and jewelers' stores are rare. An Al-Qaeda front group in Iraq had said it was behind June strikes on the Central Bank, the nation's treasury, and the Trade Bank of Iraq, attacks that had claimed dozens of lives. |
| Posted by:Fred |