Baghdad - Seven members of a family of the Yazidi faith were killed by unidentified gunmen who attacked their home in the district of Sinjar, north-west of the northern Mosul city, a police source said on Monday.

The incident took place at a late hour on Sunday night when the gunmen opened fire at the people inside the house, killing three women and four men," the source told Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Sinjar, 120 kilometres northwest of Mosul, is inhabited by Yazidis.

The Yazidi faith is a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-European roots. Yazidis are primarily Kurdish speaking. Most live in northern Iraq.

Baghdad - An Iraqi journalist has been elevated to hero status by some corners of Iraq for his "unprofessional" act of throwing his shoes at US President George W Bush at the latter's farewell visit to Baghdad.

"We congratulate him for his act," said the government critical Iraqi news agency INA on Monday, speaking of journalist Montasser al- Saidi.

The Sunni Council of Religious Scholars spoke of the demonstration as a "historic moment" in which Bush and the world were shown "what Iraqis think of the occupation."

Ziad al-Ajili, chairman of the Iraq's Organization for Press Freedom, however condemned al-Saidi's "unprofessional behaviour."

Baghdad (Iraq), Dec. 15: Outgoing UD President George W. Bush was pelted with two shoes on Sunday during a press conference here, but managed to duck both.

According to The Sun, an Iraqi TV journalist hurled the shoes at Bush during a joint press briefing with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after the signing of a troop withdrawal agreement.

Muntadar al-Zeidi, a TV reporter with an Iraqi-owned station based in Egypt, hurled the shoes, yelling in Arabic: "This is a farewell kiss, dog."

Baghdad  - A Kurdish lawmaker Friday accused al-Qaeda terrorist network of masterminding the suicide blast that took place inside a restaurant in northern Iraq leaving 45 people dead on Thursday.

Many women and children were among casualties at the restaurant, which was packed with families celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid al- Adha. More than 100 people were injured.

New York  - International contractors have brought more than 1,000 foreign workers to Baghdad's international airport without proper legal labour protection, the United Nations office in Iraq (UNAMI) said Thursday.

The workers are stranded in the airport, prompting charges of human trafficking, UNAMI said.

"UNAMI takes the allegations of human trafficking by contractors in Iraq very seriously and is concerned about their predicament," said Stefan de Mistura, the UN envoy for Iraq.

Baghdad - At least 20 people were killed and another 30 were injured in