Gunmen in Baghdad shot dead at least 12 people in a brothel Wednesday, authorities said.
This comes amid an uptick of violence across Iraq, most prominently Sunni-Shiite sectarian strife, CNN reports.
But religious extremists from both persuasions who have targeted the prostitution business over the last decade have claimed many lives. No one has claimed responsibility and police are investigating.
The incident occurred in Zayouna, a religiously mixed neighborhood with several brothels. Police say seven gunmen shot dead five men and seven women and wounded a man and a woman.