Eight killed in Baghdad raid

GUNMEN killed eight security guards to steal £4.2 million (€4.87m) from a central Baghdad bank yesterday.

Police said the robbers were insurgents attempting to finance their operations. It is the second deadly robbery in a week in Baghdad’s commercial Karradah district. Although violence has dropped dramatically over the past two years, the number of robberies in Iraq appears to be on the rise. A special committee made up of Iraqi army, police and bank officials was formed to investigate the robbery.

The gunmen broke into the state-run Rafidain Bank at about 4am, killing three on-duty guards and five others who were either on a break or asleep.