Gunmen stopped a group of travelers at a fake checkpoint in one of western Iraq's remote deserts on Wednesday, then killed at least 14 of them, according to the Associated Press.

This is the latest in a series of recent violent episodes, most of which were based in sectarian disagreement. Many Iraqis are worried that these events could lead the country back into religious division, which has plagued the nation throughout the years.

Iraqi officials reported that the gunmen-who were allegedly seeking out Shiites to harass-stopped the group near Nukhaib, a town that was the location of a 2011 ambush. Nukhaib lies at a desert byroad just west of the Shiite holy city of Karbala, which is located right in the middle of the heavily Sunni-populated Anbar province.

The attackers stopped the group of travelers at the false highway checkpoint, asking for their identities. The Associated Press wagers they used their names to pinpoint their religious orientation.

Details of the event are still unclear, but officials said that the 14 victims were shot in the head, execution style. Some of them were police officers, soldiers and civilian residents of Karbala, an area located about 60 miles south of Baghdad.

All that was left at the scene of the shooting were a few blood-splattered IDs on the dirt ground.

Iraqi officials said that Sunni insurgents might be to blame for the shootings, including al-Qaeda's Iraqi group, or Saddam Hussein loyalists who still inflict violence against Shiites to this day.

The attack followed a Shiite memorial of an eighth-century saint, Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, who is said to have been buried in Baghdad.

Thousands of Shiite pilgrims came together in the Kazimiyah district of Baghdad to commemorate Kadhim's death, walking a symbolic coffin through the streets of the city.

In the past few weeks, Baghdad has witnessed a sharp turn towards violence. Some have expressed concerns that recent attacks could lead to a return to sectarian-related warring.  

The United Nations reported that upwards of 1,045 Iraqi civilians and personnel were killed in May, up 333 casualties from April's death toll of 712.