Eight killed in Baghdad bank raid

Gunmen killed eight security guards to steal $7m (€5m) from a central Baghdad bank today.

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.

Investigators believe the gunmen used silenced weapons during the attack because witnesses and neighbours did not hear any gunshots.

Another official said the robbery appeared to be the work of insurgents trying to get hold of cash to finance their operations. He did not explain what evidence led him to that conclusion.

“While I cannot confirm that the attacks were terrorist related, it does fit past trends of terrorist groups in Iraq of financing their operations through crimes – like kidnappings for ransom, robberies and black marketeering,” a US military spokesman said.

Insurgents in Afghanistan also are believed to have staged bank robberies, kidnappings for ransom and other criminal activities to raise funds.

Five people were killed on Sunday when gunmen broke into the al-Nibal money exchange office in Karradah shortly before noon, killing three employees and two customers and wounding 12 others, including eight employees.

In April, gunmen armed with silenced weapons killed at least seven people during a raid on jewellery stores in Baghdad. In the same month, gunmen used similar tactics, killing two, during the robbery of a currency exchange office in the southern city of Basra.