Iraq says doctors can carry guns for protection

Iraq will allow doctors to carry guns to protect themselves after hundreds have been targeted and killed since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The government also ordered the Health Ministry to begin building high security residential compounds around hospitals for physicians to live in. About 8,000 doctors fled Iraq since the 2003 war, and the moves appear to be a confidence-building measure to encourage doctors to come back and to provide them with protection from kidnap gangs that often target professionals.