Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms entered a village west of Baghdad early Saturday, rousted families from their homes and opened fire on the men, killing 15 of them, an Iraqi general and a Kurdish political party said. The victims were Kurdish Shiites, according to a statement posted on the Web site of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, The Associated Press reported. The gunmen entered the village of Hamid Shifi, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Baghdad early Saturday and forced families from their homes, said Brig. Gen. Nazim Sherif. The assailants then separated the women and children, ordered the men to stand in a single file and gunned them down, he said. Sherif said villagers had received no threats before the attack, which he blamed on al-Qaida. The village is located in Diyala province, an area northeast of Baghdad where violence has risen sharply in the past six months.
