(KUNA) -- Up to 60 Iraqis were killed and 45 others injured after coming under fire in the town of Mahmoudieh, which is some 20 kilometers south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the Interior Ministry said Monday. The victims included a large number of women and children, a source in the ministry told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). "The attack was preceded by a car bomb explosion as well as a mortar attack. When the town's people came to the scene to take a look, armed gunmen opened fire on them killing 60 and injuring 45 including first aid people who came to provide assistance to the initial victims," the source said. The gunmen had roamed the streets of the town and opened fire at random against passers-by before they finally came to the scene of the massacre, the source said. MPs loyal to Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr had walked out of proceedings at the National Assembly in protest at Monday's massacre in Mahmoudieh.
Meanwhile, the multi-national force in Iraq said two of the Mahmoudieh attackers had been apprehended and a quantity of arms and ammunition confiscated with them. In a related development, a member of the multi-national force died from injuries he sustained in an attack west of the capital. The injuries took place in a place west of the capital, the multi-national force said.