Deadly attack on gas workers in northeastern Iraq

At least 18 oil and gas workers have been shot dead outside the town of Muqdadiya in northeastern Iraq.

Muqdadiya’s mayor said 15 Iranian workers and three Iraqis had been killed. He said they were ambushed by masked gunmen while digging a trench to extend a gas pipeline.

Violent attacks have been on the rise in Iraq. 948 people were killed in November alone – most of them civilians.