15 shot dead during Baghdad gold heist

[sabra]

Source: MSNBC/AP

Security officials are quick to blame al-Qaida in Iraq

BAGHDAD - Masked men armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles shot up a jewelry market in Baghdad Tuesday, killing 15 people before they fled with a large quantity of gold in an attack authorities swiftly blamed on a cash-strapped al-Qaida in Iraq.

The attack was the latest in a violent crime wave in Iraq that has swelled over the past year as sectarian fighting has dramatically ebbed. Authorities have blamed similar robberies in the past on battle-hardened former insurgents unable to find legitimate work.

The area of the attack in the southwestern neighborhood of Baiyaa was later sealed off by security forces. A dead body that police and witnesses said belonged to one of the assailants was covered with a cloth on the bloodstained sidewalk amid the shattered glass of shop windows.

"They started shooting in the air to clear the street and also threw percussion grenades," Mohammed Elaiwi Nassir, a witness who owns a real estate office nearby, told The Associated Press. "Then they started shooting directly at the gold shops' showcases from outside and scooping up gold in their hands," he added.

"The attack lasted about 15 minutes during which only one policeman showed up, but he was shot in his shoulder and leg by the attackers. After thirty minutes, the security forces came," said Nassir.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37330406/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

[Soylent Brice]

1. here's a photo of the thieves:

[The abyss]

2. How many violent armed robberies occurred while Saddam was in power?

Recommend +1

I seem to remember a serial killer/taxi driver that was executed…. Maybe I’ll look that one up…. I don’t remember hearing about any armed gold heists. Despite the fact that there were zero gun control regulations in Iraq under Saddam.

Hmmm – criminal enterprise – what can ya say?