Police: Gunmen kill 8 in Baghdad bank robbery

July 29, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Gunmen killed eight security guards and made off with nearly $7 million during a brazen bank robbery Tuesday in central Baghdad in the second such assault in a week. Though overall violence is down in Iraq, ordinary crime has emerged as an increasing threat to the country’s stability.

Police said the robberies appeared to be the work of militants seeking money for operations after their funding was severely curtailed in U.S.-Iraqi military crackdowns.

The retaliatory sectarian violence that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war has declined dramatically over the past two years. But armed robberies targeting jewelry stores, currency exchanges and pawn shops appear to be on the rise.

Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said he had ordered an investigations and called for increased security measures for banks.

“There should be some warning system within banks, and the bank safe should not be easily opened,” he told The Associated Press. “These gangs have shifted from kidnapping into bank robberies to finance terrorist operations.”

Authorities were particularly alarmed that the two robberies this week occurred in the bustling commercial district of Karradah, a mainly Shiite area that houses many prominent people.

The gunmen broke into the state-run Rafidain Bank about 4 a.m., killing three on-duty guards and five others on the premises who were either on a break or asleep, according to Iraqi police. They seized $6.9 million, the Interior Ministry said.

It was not immediately known how many gunmen were involved or how the money was secured in the bank at the time of he robbery.

Iraqi and U.S. officials attributed the attacks to militants trying to raise funds for operations, although they did not elaborate on the reason for that conclusion or which side they believed was responsible.

The U.S. military and the Iraqi government have pressed neighboring states to crack down on the smuggling of money to al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents in the country. Iran also has been accused of funneling money and arms to Shiite militias in the war-torn country.