Gunmen attacked a small town near Baghdad Thursday night and killed at least 25 people, Iraqi police stated Friday. According to Reuters, police recovered 21 bodies, mostly of Shiite workers from a brick factory at Nahrawan. Four other bodies were brought from the local power station, the report said.
Police and interior ministry sources declared they could not confirm an exact death toll but said nine guards at the power station died along with "many" factory workers.
According to eyewitnesses, more than 50 gunmen stormed into the town between 5pm and 6pm. They attacked and destroyed the local power plant, killing nine people. As the gunmen withdrew, they entered the brick factory and began killing people working there.
Baghdad
Iraqi soldiers and police patrolled the streets of Baghdad on Friday after the government declared a daytime traffic curfew to prevent clashes between Sunnis and Shi‘ites on the day of prayer. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari warned clerics not to use "inflammatory" language in a bid to ease sectarian tensions. "The clerics of Friday must express themselves in the language of national unity," he said late Thursday.
All in all, 39 people died Thursday in a new round of violence. In one incident, gunmen attacked the car of Iraq's top Sunni politician, Adnan al-Dulaimi, killing one bodyguard and wounding five others.
US Army
Meanwhile, the U.S. army said it had captured 61 al Qaeda fighters in the west of Iraq. The military also reported that a U.S. soldier died during combat in Anbar province Wednesday.
