Mortar barrage kills 10 in Iraq

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6713653.stm

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A mortar barrage fired at a residential area of Baghdad has killed at least 10 people, badly damaged houses and destroyed cars.

The shells rained down on the Umm al-Maarif neighbourhood in the south-west of the capital.

One report said a single shell was fired first.

Then, when a crowd gathered to survey the destruction, three more mortars slammed down, killing as many as a dozen onlookers, including children.

Meanwhile, in western Baghdad, suspected al-Qaeda militants came under attack from US and Iraqi forces, as well as from Sunni insurgents who have turned on their former allies.

"We have sufficient information on places they are in, and we will punish them," Sheikh Hamid al-Hais, of the Sunni Anbar Salvation Council - a group angered by al-Qaeda's attacks on civilians - told the AFP news agency.