Masked gunmen shot dead a member of Iraq's government-backed Sunni militia and four members of his family south of Baghdad, police said.
Khudair Awad al-Jubouri was a local leader of the Sahwa, or Sons of Iraq, a militia made up of Sunni former insurgents who swapped sides to fight al-Qaeda and helped turn the tide of Iraq's sectarian conflict.
Police said Jubouri was killed yesterday along with his wife and three other members of his family when gunmen attacked his home in Yusufiya, about 20 km (12 miles) south of Baghdad.
"Our initial information indicates that the gunmen covered their faces, raided his house and shot him, his wife and his three children dead by automatic weapons and ran away," said a military official who asked not to be named.
Police blamed the killings on al-Qaeda.
Yusufiya was a prominent al-Qaeda stronghold until recently. The area sees frequent attacks targeting members of the Sahwa and security forces.
Reuters