Iraq: Gunmen kill 12 in Baghdad brothel
Iraqi police officers patrol a main road leading out of the town of Haditha, 260 km north-west of Baghdad.
Seven women and five men were shot dead on Wednesday by unknown gunmen in a Baghdad brothel.
The gunmen burst into the brothel in the well-to-do eastern district of Zayouna, known for being a religiously mixed neighborhood with several similar establishments. Police said another man and woman were also wounded, and that one of the gunmen wrote "Wanted" on the wall of the house.
Prostitution is prohibited under Iraq's dominant religion of Islam.
While violence in Iraq has fallen from its worst in 2006 and 2007, attacks are still common.
Wednesday's killings come only two days after 70 people died in multiple bombings. A row of alcohol shops in the same district as the brothel were also attacked by gunmen last week. Ten Christians working at the shops were killed, but customers were allowed to leave unharmed.
More from GlobalPost: Iraq: Wave of bombings kill scores, wound hundreds in Baghdad and beyond
More than 200 people have been killed in each of the first five months of 2013. With Wednesday's attack in Baghdad, 399 people have been killed so far in May.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and police are investigating.