A sectarian attack on teenagers took place near a Turkmen village in northern Iraq. This was the most horrifying attack on this relatively quiet day. Overall, at least 12 Iraqis were killed and six were wounded across the country.

Gunmen came across a group of teenagers cooling off in a canal near Amerli and killed seven of them before fleeing.The gunmen questioned the children before handcuffing and shooting them. Three more were wounded. The attack occurred in an area where many Turkmen reside.

The Turkmen are one of Iraq’s minority groups, but the gunmen appeared to be targeting only the Shi’ites among them. They reportedly spared the Sunni teenagers in the group.

A policeman and his mother were killed, and a child was wounded during a home invasion near Baquba.

A blast in Qayara killed a policeman and wounded a civilian.

In Mosul, gunmen killed a soldier at his checkpoint.

A civilian was stabbed to death in Azat.

A bomb in Saidiya wounded a soldier.

A 11-year-old boy was freed hours after his kidnapping in Nasariya.

Read more by Margaret Griffis

• Retaliation Against Sunnis Leave 90 Dead, 201 Wounded Across Iraq – May 17th, 2013
• Bombings Continue in Baghdad, Kirkuk; 40 Killed – May 16th, 2013
• Iraq Horror: 42 Killed, 141 Wounded – May 15th, 2013
• Baghdad Liquor Stores Targeted in Ongoing Attacks – May 14th, 2013
• Cleric and Councilman Among 14 Killed in Iraq – May 13th, 2013