Armed men wearing police-commando uniforms briefly overran Iraq’s Central Bank on Sunday, killing at least 24 people in a brazen daylight assault and sowing panic and confusion in the heart of Baghdad’s busiest commercial district.
The corpses of seven more men wearing uniforms and suspected of being among the assailants were found inside the bank after police finally entered, four hours after the assault began. At least 46 people were injured.
Some of the casualties were civilians caught in explosions or gunfire outside the bank, and others were employees trapped inside, police said.
It was the latest in a string of heists targeting banks and jewelers in Iraq, but at least one of the assailants killed himself using an explosives vest, suggesting the motive may have been sabotage rather than robbery.
Full story: Iraq’s Central Bank: 24 killed, 46 hurt in attack on bank in Baghdad – latimes.com