Three Westerners gunned down in Mosul

Gunmen killed four occupants of a car in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul today and eyewitnesses claimed three of the victims were Westerners.

The bodies of the four victims, including one whose head was almost severed, were seen lying on the road alongside their burning car.

Police Captain Zeid Waseem said police received reports that three foreigners and their Iraqi driver had been killed.

The nationalities of the non-Iraqis was not immediately clear.

Meanwhile, US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Hastings said security forces yesterday found the bodies of six unidentified Iraqi civilians who had been shot dead in western Mosul.

Residents found another two Iraqis wearing civilian clothes who had been shot in the head in Hamdaniyah, 19 miles east of Mosul, police said.

Since November 10, about 160 bodies, including many affiliated with the Iraqi National Guard and police, have been found in this restive northern city, which was initially peaceful after the US-led invasion but has become a worrisome trouble spot since the American and Iraqi militaries invaded the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah in November.