Iraqi gunmen open fire on bus, killing five

BAQUBA, Iraq, Apr 16 (Reuters) Gunmen today opened fire on a bus carrying civilians north of Baghdad, killing five and wounding four, police said.

The attack took place in the volatile town of Baquba, some 65 km north of Baghdad. Ethnically mixed Baquba has been hit several times by sectarian violence. There was no immediate word on why the gunmen opened fire on the bus.

The area has seen several bomb attacks and shootings targeting civilians.

A spike in communal violence has raised fears of a sectarian civil war in Iraq. The attack occurred as Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim, Kurdish and Sunni leaders struggled to form a national unity government four months after elections.

Reuters SI GC1917