BAGHDAD (AP) Gunmen attacked two Shiite families in a largely Sunni area south of Iraq's capital, Baghdad, killing 16, officials said Wednesday.
The killings raise Tuesday's death toll in shootings and bombings across the country to at least 83 people killed.
Gunmen first opened fire on the two houses shortly before midnight in the town of Latifiyah and then planted bombs around them, a police officer said. Six children, five women and five men were killed, while nine people were wounded, he said.
Last Wednesday, gunmen shot dead a seven-member Shiite family in the same town, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad.
A medical official confirmed the causality figure. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.