GUNMEN armed with silenced weapons have shot dead 12 people at alcohol shops in the Iraqi capital, security and medical officials say.

The gunmen, who were travelling in four vehicles, restrained federal policemen at a checkpoint in the Zayouna area of west Baghdad, an interior ministry official said on Tuesday.

They then shot dead 12 people in multiple adjoining alcohol shops nearby.

A medical official confirmed the toll.

With alcohol forbidden by Islam, Baghdad liquor stores are an attractive target for fundamentalist groups, made more so because they are often staffed by religious minorities.

Violence in Iraq has fallen from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common, killing more than 200 people in each of the first four months of this year.