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Gunmen kill 12 in Iraqi village Gunmen kill 12 in Iraqi village
(about 6 hours later)
At least 12 people have been shot dead by gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms in a pre-dawn attack in a village south-west of Baghdad, officials say.At least 12 people have been shot dead by gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms in a pre-dawn attack in a village south-west of Baghdad, officials say.
Police spokesman Gen Qassim Moussawi said officers suspected the attack in Zauba was the result a tribal dispute. Police spokesman Gen Qassim Moussawi said he suspected the attack in al-Saadan was the result a tribal dispute.
Among the dead were a senior figure in the Iraqi Islamic Party and members of a local Awakening Council - a Sunni militia co-operating with the state. Among the dead was a senior figure in the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's main Sunni Arab political grouping.
The area around Zauba was once a hotbed of the Sunni insurgency in the country. Later, six people were killed when a car bomb exploded near a market in the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.
The violence triggered by the US-led invasion in 2003 has diminished over the past 18 months, but shootings and bombings are common. "Many cars were set ablaze and many shops heavily damaged due to the powerful explosion," Gen Torhan Abdul Rahman told the Reuters news agency.
A resident of Zauba blamed al-Qaeda in Iraq for Monday's attack. The violence triggered in Iraq by the US-led invasion in 2003 has diminished over the past 18 months, but the ethnically-mixed and oil-rich city of Kirkuk remains a flashpoint, and attacks have continued.
Mohammed al-Zubaie told AFP news agency that the gunmen had shot dead Attala Ouda al-Shukir, an Awakening Council leader, as well as three of his sons and four cousins. 'Heinous crime'
In the attack near Baghdad, the gunmen entered the home of Attala Ouda al-Shukir, a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, shortly before dawn on Monday and forced him and at least 11 others to go outside.
The people behind this crime are aiming at seeding insecurity and turmoil in the area Iraqi Islamic Party
The men, members of the Zubaa tribe who locals said included three of Mr Shukir's sons and four of his cousins, were then led into a nearby field and shot in the head and elsewhere on their bodies, officials and locals said.
In a statement, the Iraqi Islamic Party condemned the "ugly crime", saying it was a "worrying indication that the situation might be deteriorating" and that it represented a "revenge attack against people who had helped stabilise the area", which was once a hotbed of the Iraqi insurgency.
"This heinous crime reminds us of those committed during the past years of insecurity. The people behind this crime are aiming at seeding insecurity and turmoil in the area," it added.
There were conflicting reports about whether the victims had been members of the local Awakening Council - a Sunni militia co-operating with the government - but several appear to have once fought against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Police officials said they believed the attack was the result of a tribal dispute, but a resident of al-Saadan blamed al-Qaeda militants.
"It was an al-Qaeda group and they were wearing Iraqi army uniforms," Mohammed al-Zubaie told the AFP news agency.
The violence comes amid increasing confusion over parliamentary elections scheduled for 21 January.
On Sunday, Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi of the IIP threatened to veto a crucial election law, which paves the way for the vote, unless more seats were guaranteed for Iraqis living abroad, most of whom are Sunni Arabs.
Mr Hashemi gave Iraqi MPs until midday on Tuesday to make the necessary changes. Any delay could plunge Iraq into a constitutional crisis, as the vote must take place before the end of January 2010.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, is also said to have doubts about ratifying the law because of the lack of seats for minorities.