Children gather in front of a jewelry store where gunmen stole gold and money from, in Baghdad's Shula neighborhood, Iraq, 14 Oct 2009Iraqi officials say eight people were killed when armed robbers raided a marketplace in a Shi'ite neighborhood of Baghdad.

Police say mortar shells or rockets exploded in the popular market in the Shula district before gunmen stormed the market's gold and jewelry shops.

The gunmen escaped with the merchants' wares. Eight people were killed and at least 14 wounded in the assault that accompanied the heist.

Sectarian violence has declined in Iraq, but crime and lawlessness continue to plague the country.

Wednesday's assault comes one day after a suicide bomber killed eight people at a cafe in a predominantly Sunni town of Buhriz north of Baghdad. The casualties included Leith Mishaan, the leader of a Sunni militia that had turned against al-Qaida.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP.