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Six Killed in Iraq Violence | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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BAGHDAD, (AFP) – A farmer and two of his workers, gunned down by insurgents dressed in army uniforms, were among six people killed in violence across central Iraq on Friday, security officials said.

The deadliest attack saw gunmen wearing fake military uniforms target Ahmed Mahud, a poultry farmer in the village of al-Mishahdah, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province.

“They killed Mahud and two of his workers, and then they fled,” said police Lieutenant Ahmed al-Mashhadani.

“Similar attacks have occurred in the area in recent weeks -insurgents want to give the impression that the army and police are behind these attacks.”

Meanwhile, in now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s hometown of al-Awja, two policemen were killed in a firefight with militants they were chasing, a police officer said. Four insurgents were captured.

And one other person was killed and seven wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a popular cafe in southeast Baghdad, an interior ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

While violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq since its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common, especially in the capital and the main northern city of Mosul.

The number of people killed in violence in Iraq last month was the lowest in a year for the second month running, with 171 people – 105 civilians, 23 soldiers and 43 policemen – dying in attacks.