Gunmen in Iraq kill government employee and his family of 4 in home invasion as bombs kill 4

12/15/2013

BAGHDAD — Gunmen broke into the home of a government employee in a town north of Iraq’s capital and killed him and his family, the deadliest in attacks Sunday that left nine dead across the country, officials said.

Attackers using guns fitted with silencers killed the Health Ministry employee, his wife, two sons and 10-year old daughter as they slept in their home in Sadiyah early Sunday morning, police said. Police said they are investigating the incident, but have no motive for the attack nor any suspects in mind.

Sadiyah is 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Also, a bomb attached to a bus killed two commuters and wounded seven in Waziriyah neighborhood in northern Baghdad, police said. In the northern city of Mosul, a roadside bomb missed an army patrol but killed two civilians and wounded four, authorities said.

Health officials confirmed the death toll for all attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

Violence has been on the rise in Iraq since a deadly crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in a northern town in April. At least 213 people have died in attacks across the country so far this month, according to an Associated Press count.