Gunmen kill 25 in Iraqi village

BAGHDAD - At least 25 people were killed in Iraq when gunmen stormed houses in a village near the capital, an interior ministry source said Saturday.

The attack occurred late Friday in Sufiya in Rasheed district when gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms raided three houses, Xinhua reported quoting an interior ministry source.

The victims apparently were families of government-backed “Awakening Council” paramilitary group members, who had turned their guns against the Al Qaeda network in Iraq.

The area where the incident happened is part of the volatile Hour Rajab region, once a stronghold of Al Qaeda militants.