Vehicles Banned in Baghdad After Night of Violence

Iraqi police and soldiers took to the streets of Baghdad today to enforce a vehicle ban in the city after a night of violence which saw at least 30 people killed by suspected Sunni insurgents.

Police recovered 21 bodies, mostly of migrant Shia workers, from a brick factory in the small town of Nahrawan, near Baghdad, council leader Alaa Abdul Sahab al-Lamy told Reuters.

Police Lt Bilal Ali Majed said the attack began at dusk yesterday when a string of mortar shells struck an electricity power plant in the town, killing at least nine people and injuring three.

Half an hour later, dozens of gunmen arrived in pickup trucks and set fire to the building, he said.

Security guards returned fire, and Iraqi police and army sent in reinforcements.

Reuters reported that as the gunmen withdrew, they entered the brick factory and began killing people working there.

Police Lt Mohammed Kheyoun identified the victims as guards and technicians employed by the facility. He said he did not know whether any of the attackers were among the dead.

The interior ministry said it could not confirm a total death toll but said nine guards at the power station were killed along with "many" factory workers.

Last week, 47 people were killed near Nahrawan after attending what police said was a demonstration calling for unity in Iraq.

Iraqi authorities imposed a ban on private vehicles in the capital and the surrounding area in an attempt to prevent attacks during midday prayers on Friday, the most important service of the week.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari warned preachers not to incite hatred or violence in their sermons, threatening them with "severe measures" if they did.

The vehicle ban began as the overnight curfew ended at 6am and was due to last until 4pm. Security forces sealed off the city, preventing most vehicles from entering or leaving.

Some residents expressed frustration that they were only told about the ban late on Thursday, which left them little time to stock up on food and other provisions.

But most accepted the move as necessary after hundreds of sectarian killings following the bombing on February 22 of a holy Shia shrine in Samarra.

Saad Juwad Kadim, a taxi driver forced to take the day off, said: "A curfew is normal in such situations. It’s a way to stop terrorists from carrying out their operations."