By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Gunmen wearing explosives belts under military uniforms took hostages at a local government headquarters in Saddam Hussein's hometown, killing 15 of them execution-style before blowing themselves up in a fiery end to an hourslong siege, Iraqi officials said. In all, 45 people were killed.
"The gunmen were armed with grenades and began their raid by firing at random at a reception room," Mr. Rihman said. "Then they opened fire inside."
As a result, he said, most of the lawmakers already had left the headquarters when the assault began.
