Gunmen wearing army uniforms killed at least six government-backed Sunni Muslim militiamen at a checkpoint near the Iraqi city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, on Sunday, police said. Sahwa fighters, who helped U.S. troops turn the tide against al Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq from 2006 onwards, are often targeted by insurgents battling the Shi'ite-led government. Two years after U.S. troops left Iraq, violence has climbed back to its highest levels since the Sunni-Shi'ite bloodletting of 2006-2007, when tens of thousands of people were killed. The United Nations says nearly 9,000 people died violently in Iraq last year, all but 1,050 of them civilians.
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January 19th, 2014
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