Gunmen storm Iraqi TV station, kill 11

BAGHDAD, Oct 12 (Reuters) Gunmen stormed the offices of a new Iraqi satellite channel in Baghdad today and killed 11 employees in one of the biggest single attacks on Iraqi media, frequent targets of militant groups.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, a string of bomb blasts killed at least eight people, police said. Hundreds of people are killed every week in the capital in daily shootings and bombings blamed on Sunni insurgents and sectarian death squads.

Hassan Kamil, executive manager of Shaabiya satellite channel, said gunmen raided the station's office in eastern Zayouna district at 7 a.m. (0930 IST), killing guards, technicians and administrative staff.

Kamil, who was not there at the time, had earlier put the death toll at seven. He said more bodies were later found in a second building. The Interior Ministry said nine people had died. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.

Kamil said the staff had been staying overnight in the station, which has not yet begun regular broadcasts. Most were shot as they lay sleeping in their beds, while one was shot in the bathroom. They were shot in the head and chest.

Shaabiya is owned by the National Justice and Progress Party, a small secular party which contested the last two previous elections but failed to win any seats in parliament.

Kamil said among those killed was the head of the party, Abdul-Rahim Nasrallah, who was head of the station's board of directors.

Only two employees survived the attack. One was severely wounded and in hospital, he said.

A Reuters reporter saw blood spattered on furniture and on the floor in the station's reception area.

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