Gunmen shoot down civilian in Wassit

WASSIT / IraqiNews.com: A civilian man was killed by unidentified gunmen in the district of al-Numaniya, northern Wassit, on Sunday, an official police source in the province said. “The gunmen opened fire at a civilian in al-Numaniya, (40 km) north of Kut, killing him instantly,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “The police imposed a security siege round the scene in a bid to arrest the gunmen who managed to escape,” the source said, not giving more details about the incident. A Shiite province, Wassit, 180 km south of Baghdad, is in the east of the country. Its name comes from the Arabic word meaning “middle,” as it lies along the Tigris about midway between Baghdad and Basra. Its major cities include the capital, al-Kut, and al-Hayy. Prior to 1976 it was known as Kut Province. AmR (P) 1