US soldier kills five colleagues at counselling clinic

A US soldier opened fire on fellow troops at a counselling centre inside a US base yesterday, killing five before being taken into custody, the US command and Pentagon officials said.

The shooting occurred at Camp Liberty, a sprawling US base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city’s international airport and adjacent to another facility where President Barack Obama visited last month.

A brief US statement said the soldier “suspected of being involved with the shooting” was in custody but gave no further details. Nobody else was hurt, the military said. It was unclear what provoked the attack.