Iraqi policeman kills wife and toddlers in rage

An Iraqi policeman was arrested on Sunday after gunning down his wife and three toddlers in a fit of rage, claiming that the infants were "not my children," police and a doctor said.

Ghalib Hamish Noayim killed his family inside their home at around 5:00 am (0200 GMT) on Sunday before walking to a nearby police station in the southern city of Amara, Maysan province, to turn himself in.

"He told police when he was arrested, 'Those children are not my children'," said police First Lieutenant Ali Hussein. He did not immediately give further details on the case.

A police official who did not want to be named said Noayim was in hysterics when he gave himself up.

Saadun al-Alak, a doctor at Amara's al-Sadr general hospital, told AFP: "This morning, we received four dead bodies -- a woman who was shot in her head and chest, and three young children who were shot in their abdomen."

Hussein said Noayim's wife, who was 30 years old, could only be identified by her initials A. G. H. because of local traditions barring the publication of her full name.

The three children killed were two boys, aged four and six months, and one girl aged three.

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