Topic: Gunmen attack Sunni homes, mosques, in Baghdad

Media: The Associated Press
Byline: n/a
Date: 22 September 2006

Body:



BAGHDAD, Iraq_Gunmen killed three people in an attack on Sunni Muslim homes
Friday, then opened fire on two Sunni mosques before fleeing at the arrival
of U.S. and Iraqi troops, police said.

The attack came in the capital's northern Hurriya area, a neighborhood with
a mix of Shiites and Sunnis.

About 20 gunmen drove in in five cars, then attacked several houses and set
fire to two, said police Lt. Maithem Abdel-Razzaq. In addition to the people
killed, one more was wounded.

They then opened fire on the mosques, damaging the buildings but not causing
any injuries, Razzaq said. When U.S. and Iraqi soldiers arrived, supported
by helicopters, the gunmen fled.

The 10:15 a.m. (0615 GMT) attack came 45 minutes before a vehicle ban and
curfew put in place to try to prevent sectarian violence against worshippers
on the Muslim holy day. Under the regulations, no vehicles are allowed on
the streets between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. _ when people would be at prayer or
going to or from mosques _ and people are restricted to their own
neighborhoods.

The rules were put in place after the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in
Samarra, 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, which inflamed tensions
between Shiite and Sunni Muslims and triggered months of reprisal attacks.