Iraq Watch: July 17, 2006

Gunmen Storm Iraqi Market; Kill Scores

Militants killed at least 50 people when they attacked an outdoor market early Monday in the volatile town of Mahmoudiya, located about 20 miles south of Baghdad. Most of Monday's victims were believed to be members of Iraq's majority Shiite sect.

The insurgent group, Supporters of the Sunni People, claimed responsibility for the market attack in a communiqué posted on the Internet stating "This is your medicine for what you [Shiites] did..."

Details pertaining to the assault remained sketchy with conflicting reports regarding the methodology of the brazen ambush.

At least some of the perpetrators were sporting Iraqi military garb. A Mahmoudiya official told the New York Times "You can't tell your friend from your enemy."

Mahmoudiya, located in the foreboding "Triangle of Death," is a mixed Shiite-Sunni town and the scene of frequent tit-for-tat sectarian killings.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the deaths of three U.S. service members Monday. Two MND-B soldiers were killed in separate incidents in Baghdad while another soldier died "due to enemy action" in Iraq's western Anbar Province.