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Gunmen in Iraq have kidnapped employees of a Sunni Muslim group that takes care of mosques and shrines.

At least 19 employees of the Sunni Endowment were seized as they returned to their homes north of Baghdad. The Endowment has suspended its activities in protest.

The kidnapping is one of a growing number of sectarian-based attacks in Iraq.

Also Wednesday, gunmen stormed a market in a small town, Rasheed, south of Baghdad, killing at least three people.

Iraqi police say a string of bombing attacks in central Baghdad killed five people.

In a western part of the capital, a senior Interior Ministry official, Major General Fakhir Abdul Mohsen, was killed in a drive-by shooting.

Sunnis claim that Shi'ite death squads have been operating with the tacit approval of the Interior Ministry, which is dominated by Shi'ites.

A U.N. report says nearly 6,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in violence in May and June. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq report released Tuesday also says more than 14,000 Iraqis have died in the first six months of this year.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.