Gunmen killed eight members of a Sunni family and kidnapped two others in an area northeast of Baghdad where Shiite militiamen still operate, officials said on Friday.The gunmen stormed the Al Karawi family's home late on Thursday and shot the eight victims to death in their sleep, according to Brigadier General Abdul Karim Al Rubaie, the head of the security headquarters for Diyala province. He said two women were among those slain, while a man and a woman were kidnapped.
The family was poor and had moved to the Maamil village a year ago to work at brick factories in the area. The motive for the attack was under investigation. But a police officer in the nearby town of Balad Ruz said local police believed the attack was carried out by Shiite extremists who still wield influence in the area.