The attack began about 9 a.m. with a brief mortar barrage, followed by an armed assault by dozens of gunmen. They killed three Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint, then stormed the market, firing automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades, police Capt. Rashid al-Samaraie said.
Following the attack, police rushed to the market, arresting people at random in an attempt to find the assailants, witnesses said.
Most of the casualties in the attack are thought to be Shi'ite Muslims.
Both Sunni insurgents like al Qaeda and Shi'ite militias have been active in the area, where the population is mixed between the two Muslim sects whose violent differences have taken
The attack came on the anniversary of the 1968 coup d'etat that brought Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated Baath party to power.
AP/Reuters
At least 40 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack on a crowded market in Mahmoudiya town south of Baghdad on July 17, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
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