Gunmen kill 9 members of Shi'ite family near Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Dec 13 (Reuters) Gunmen stormed the house of a Shi'ite family in a village south of Baghdad today and killed all of its nine members, including three children and two women.

Police said the dawn attack was aimed at driving Shi'ites from the area.

The violence took place in the Shi'ite village of al-Hesna, a cluster of mud houses surrounded by orchards some 35 km south of Baghdad, police said.

Gunmen from neighbouring Sunni villages on Tuesday burned homes in al-Hesna and warned Shi'ite families to leave. Most of the neighbours left but the family killed today had remained in the village, police said.

Iraq is gripped by sectarian bloodletting between majority Shi'ites and once dominant Sunnis since the February bombing of a Shi'ite shrine unleashed revenge killings.

Fearful of communal reprisals, close to half a million Iraqis have fled their homes. Many neighbourhoods and villages are being carved out along sectarian lines.

Reuters BDP GC1802