Global General

Brazen Baghdad gold heist ends in 15 dead

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-26 11:31

Security personnel gather near goldsmith shops after an attack by gunmen in Baghdad May 25, 2010. [Agencies]

As one of their vehicles blocked the street to prevent a rescue, the gunmen opened fire on 12 shops, killing nine gold shop owners or their workers and two bystanders, police said. A hospital official confirmed the number of casualties.

The gunmen then scooped up the gold and fled. The value of the stolen gold was not known or revealed.

Related readings:  Baghdad waitresses break down barriers  Baghdad vote results unchanged after re-count  Death toll of Baghdad blasts rises to 52  Al-Qaida group claims hotel blasts in Baghdad

"The attack lasted about 15 minutes during which only one policeman showed up, but he was shot in his shoulder and leg by the attackers. After 30 minutes, the security forces came," said Nassir.

There is a security checkpoint about 800 yards (meters) from the shops that were robbed.

Some of the shop owners had AK-47 rifles, not unusual in a country that has seen so much violence and where people often rely on themselves for protection. But the attack happened so quickly, they had little chance to use them.

Al-Moussawi, the military spokesman, said security forces killed one gunmen and arrested two.

A dead body that police and witnesses said belonged to one of the assailants was covered with a cloth on the bloodstained sidewalk among the shattered glass of shop windows.

An Iraqi security official said the sophisticated and highly orchestrated attack suggested al-Qaida, as did the use of pistols fixed with silencers.

He also said documents seized during an April raid resulting in the deaths of the two top al-Qaida in Iraq figures revealed instructions to rob banks, jewelry stores and exchange houses as a way to finance the group's activities.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly, as did police and hospital officials.