7 jewellery store owners killed during robberies in Baghdad

Baghdad: Attackers have fatally shot seven people in an old market area of Baghdad in a new spree of violence in the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqi military said a "criminal gang using weapons equipped with silencers" was behind the morning slayings on Sunday in the northern Al Tobji neighbourhood. Baghdad security spokesman Qassim Al Moussawi said the gunmen used three cars in the heist.

The government said a military committee will investigate the incident and track down those involved, and urged citizens to come forward if they have any information.

Earlier Sunday, a police official at one of the robbed stores said the attackers killed the owner, a customer and a barber from a nearby shop who came to the aid of the owner.