12 killed in minibuses attack near Baghdad

The source said the attack took place on Saturday when the buses passed through the so-called Sunni "triangle of death" south of the capital.

Gunmen killed 12 people and kidnapped dozens more when they ambushed three minibuses south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a security source said.

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The source said the attack took place on Saturday when the buses passed through Latifiyah in the so-called Sunni "triangle of death" south of the capital.

"Gunmen set up a fake checkpoint on the highway heading to the city of Diwaniyah and ambushed these buses near Latifiyah," he said.

The source said two of the passengers escaped and told police that 12 people were executed by the gunmen, while "dozens more were abducted".

Armed men from Shiite and Sunni gangs often kidnap people from rival communities and execute them.

Iraq is engulfed in a bitter sectarian conflict that has killed thousands of people, mostly in Baghdad.