Attack at fake Iraq checkpoint kills 14

BAGHDAD -- Gunmen ambushed a group of travelers at a fake checkpoint at a remote desert site in western Iraq yesterday and killed at least 14 of them, according to Iraqi officials, in what appeared to be the latest blow in sectarian violence gripping the country.

The gunmen, apparently looking for Shias to kill, struck near the town of Nukhaib. The town sits at a desert crossroads west of the Shia holy city of Karbala, but is in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province.

The assailants manning the fake highway checkpoint checked the identities of travelers, presumably to identify their sect based on their names, according to officials. Police said they found bloodstained IDs on the ground.

Officials said the 14 victims were shot in the head and included police and soldiers, as well as civilian residents of the overwhelmingly Shia Karbala. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Iraqi officials believe Sunni insurgents including al-Qaida's Iraq branch as well as loyalists of Saddam Hussein's former regime are responsible for much of the violence against Shias and government security forces, which are dominated by the Muslim sect.

Yesterday's attack came at the end of a Shia commemoration of a revered 8th century saint, Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, believed to be buried in Baghdad. Authorities imposed tight security measures in the Iraqi capital to protect pilgrims, and no serious violence was reported there during the commemoration.

Violence has spiked in Iraq in recent weeks, raising fears of a return to widespread sectarian bloodshed. -- AP