Sectarian Violence Kills 11 in Iraq

Baghdad, Iraq map

It was a violent day in Iraq Saturday with at least 11 people killed and 10 policemen kidnapped as hatred simmers between the ruling Shi'ite majority and the Sunni minority.

Gunmen broke into the home of an anti-terrorism policeman in the Baghdad suburb of Rasheed, killing him, his wife, and two children.  Another security officer was killed elsewhere in Rasheed.

Police say gunmen killed a Sunni cleric near his home in the southern port city of Basra and a car bomb exploded in the town of Latifiya, killing at least one person.  Suspected Sunni Muslims kidnapped at least 10 policemen in Ramadi, near the Syrian border.

Iraq's Sunni population says the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri-al-Maliki has been ignoring their needs while targeting them for arrests since taking power 10 years ago.

On Friday, 70 people were killed in a series of bomb attacks targeting Sunnis, including two blasts outside a mosque north of Baghdad.  Bombings and other violence have killed more than 100 people in Iraq in the past week.

Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/gunmen-kill-iraqi-police-officer-and-family/1663557.html