Monday, May 21, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
British troops and the Mahdi Army fought in Basra province on Sunday over the arrest Saturday of a Mahdi Army official as he was trying to board a flight. Three British soldiers and two militamen were reported wounded and four British tanks were damaged. In Baghdad, 24 bodies were found around the city. Another Iraqi journalist was found dead; he'd been abducted a few hours earlier.
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1200 GMT on Monday:
* denotes new or updated item.
* BAQUBA - Two people were killed and 15 wounded when three mortar rounds landed in the religiously mixed city of Baquba, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Two mortar rounds landed in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi parliament and U.S. embassy, in central Baghdad, police said. They did not know if there were any casualties.
* BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed two insurgents and detained 69 others in Baghdad during the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said. Another 26 insurgents were detained in other parts of Iraq.
* BAGHDAD - Militants kidnapped and killed a journalist from one of Iraq's most popular national newspapers, Azzaman, in southern Baghdad on Sunday, his employers said on Monday.
HIBHIB - Police said three Iraqi soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes with gunmen who attacked a minibus carrying off-duty soldiers near the town of Hibhib, near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad. A hospital source and Iraqiya state television put the death toll at seven.
KHALIS - Four people were wounded by a car bomb in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, causing an unknown number of casualties, police said.
BAGHDAD - The office of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the biggest Sunni group in parliament, said that the Iraqi army had opened fire on his motorcade in Adil district in western Baghdad. There were no casualties.
BAGHDAD - Four Iraqi policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in Wazirya district in central Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Four people from al-Ubaidat tribe were killed and five wounded in clashes between them and gunmen in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding two in Adil district of western Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in Iskandariya, police said.
SAFRA - Saboteurs set an oil by-products pipeline on fire when they planted bombs beneath it in the village of Safra, 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police and Oil North Company said.
NEAR TAL AFAR - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in the main road between the town of Sinjar and Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.
TIKRIT - Police said that they arrested Salah Khalil, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq office in Salaheddine Province on Sunday in the city of Tikrit, police said. He was accused of supporting insurgents, a source said.
* denotes new or updated item.
* BAQUBA - Two people were killed and 15 wounded when three mortar rounds landed in the religiously mixed city of Baquba, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Two mortar rounds landed in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi parliament and U.S. embassy, in central Baghdad, police said. They did not know if there were any casualties.
* BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed two insurgents and detained 69 others in Baghdad during the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said. Another 26 insurgents were detained in other parts of Iraq.
* BAGHDAD - Militants kidnapped and killed a journalist from one of Iraq's most popular national newspapers, Azzaman, in southern Baghdad on Sunday, his employers said on Monday.
HIBHIB - Police said three Iraqi soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes with gunmen who attacked a minibus carrying off-duty soldiers near the town of Hibhib, near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad. A hospital source and Iraqiya state television put the death toll at seven.
KHALIS - Four people were wounded by a car bomb in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
FALLUJA - A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, causing an unknown number of casualties, police said.
BAGHDAD - The office of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the biggest Sunni group in parliament, said that the Iraqi army had opened fire on his motorcade in Adil district in western Baghdad. There were no casualties.
BAGHDAD - Four Iraqi policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in Wazirya district in central Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Four people from al-Ubaidat tribe were killed and five wounded in clashes between them and gunmen in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding two in Adil district of western Baghdad, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in Iskandariya, police said.
SAFRA - Saboteurs set an oil by-products pipeline on fire when they planted bombs beneath it in the village of Safra, 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police and Oil North Company said.
NEAR TAL AFAR - A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding three policemen in the main road between the town of Sinjar and Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.
TIKRIT - Police said that they arrested Salah Khalil, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq office in Salaheddine Province on Sunday in the city of Tikrit, police said. He was accused of supporting insurgents, a source said.
Labels: abduction, Adnan Dulaimi, al-Ubaidat tribe, Baqouba, Fallujah, Green Zone, Hibhib, Iskandariyah, Khalis, mortar rounds, Safra, suicide bomber
Monday, April 30, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
April 30 (Reuters) - Key security developments in Iraq at 1500 GMT on Monday, follow the link for further information:
* denotes new or updated item.
* KHALIS - A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 32 people when he blew himself up among mourners at a Shi'ite funeral in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The attack took place inside a crowded mourning tent. More than 52 people had been wounded, police said.
RAMADI - A tanker laden with chlorine gas exploded near a restaurant west of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, killing up to six people and wounding 10, police and hospital sources said.
BAGHDAD - Mortar rounds killed one civilian and wounded six when they landed on a residential area of northern Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district, police said.
SUWAYRA - The bodies of six people were retrieved from two rivers in Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army arrested 138 insurgents in the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - At least two people were killed and 15 wounded when a bus bomb exploded in a tunnel, police said. The explosion badly damaged the tunnel, on a main artery in western Baghdad.
SAMARRA - U.S. forces detained 11 suspected insurgents during raids in Baghdad and in the city of Samarra targeting al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - Eight gunmen were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi operation in Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said, in what some witnesses described as a clash with the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district.
MOSUL - Six gunmen were killed and two wounded when they attacked a police station in the northern city of Mosul, police said. A car bomb exploded near the police station targeting a patrol heading to the scene of the attack, killing a policeman and wounded two others, the source added.
* denotes new or updated item.
* KHALIS - A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 32 people when he blew himself up among mourners at a Shi'ite funeral in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The attack took place inside a crowded mourning tent. More than 52 people had been wounded, police said.
RAMADI - A tanker laden with chlorine gas exploded near a restaurant west of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, killing up to six people and wounding 10, police and hospital sources said.
BAGHDAD - Mortar rounds killed one civilian and wounded six when they landed on a residential area of northern Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district, police said.
SUWAYRA - The bodies of six people were retrieved from two rivers in Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army arrested 138 insurgents in the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
BAGHDAD - At least two people were killed and 15 wounded when a bus bomb exploded in a tunnel, police said. The explosion badly damaged the tunnel, on a main artery in western Baghdad.
SAMARRA - U.S. forces detained 11 suspected insurgents during raids in Baghdad and in the city of Samarra targeting al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - Eight gunmen were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi operation in Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said, in what some witnesses described as a clash with the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district.
MOSUL - Six gunmen were killed and two wounded when they attacked a police station in the northern city of Mosul, police said. A car bomb exploded near the police station targeting a patrol heading to the scene of the attack, killing a policeman and wounded two others, the source added.
Labels: Baghdad, chlorine gas truck, gunmen, Khalis, mortar rounds, Mosul, Ramadi, suicide bomber, Suwayra
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq at 1315 GMT on Thursday:
* denotes new or updated item.
KHALIS - Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 wounded, including civilians, when a suicide bomber rammed his car into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - At least six people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast near Baghdad University and the Al-Hamra Hotel in the Jadriya district of southern Baghdad, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
TIKRIT - Gunmen killed the sister-in-law and niece of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin who was dubbed "Chemical Ali", in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
NEAR MOSUL - At least three people were killed and 59 wounded in three separate blasts in a town near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local official. Two truck bombs and a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt targeted local offices for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 18 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen in Hurriya, car bombs in Bayaa, mortar rounds in Abu Dshir, a roadside bomb near the Shorja market killed several and wounded many.
* denotes new or updated item.
KHALIS - Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and 15 wounded, including civilians, when a suicide bomber rammed his car into an Iraqi army checkpoint in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - At least six people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast near Baghdad University and the Al-Hamra Hotel in the Jadriya district of southern Baghdad, police and Interior Ministry sources said.
TIKRIT - Gunmen killed the sister-in-law and niece of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin who was dubbed "Chemical Ali", in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
NEAR MOSUL - At least three people were killed and 59 wounded in three separate blasts in a town near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local official. Two truck bombs and a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt targeted local offices for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 18 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen in Hurriya, car bombs in Bayaa, mortar rounds in Abu Dshir, a roadside bomb near the Shorja market killed several and wounded many.
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces said they killed three insurgents in an operation in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. Residents said three people were killed, including a pregnant woman and a 70 year-old man, and seven wounded during the operation.
NEAR TAJI - U.S. forces killed four insurgents in an air strike during an operation targeting al Qaeda in Iraq west of Taji, the U.S. military said. It said that two women and two children were also believed to have been killed.
BASRA - Yousif al-Moussawi, the general-secretary of the Shi'ite Tharallah Islamic Party in Basra, said he had escaped unhurt from a grenade attack on his house in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Wednesday. One of his guards was seriously wounded.
NEAR TAJI - U.S. forces killed four insurgents in an air strike during an operation targeting al Qaeda in Iraq west of Taji, the U.S. military said. It said that two women and two children were also believed to have been killed.
BASRA - Yousif al-Moussawi, the general-secretary of the Shi'ite Tharallah Islamic Party in Basra, said he had escaped unhurt from a grenade attack on his house in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Wednesday. One of his guards was seriously wounded.
Labels: Baghdad, Basra, car bomb, KDP, Khalis, Kirkuk, Mosul, suicide bomber, Taji
Iraqi Army, KDP target of attacks
Security, Politics
(AP) - A suicide car bomb attack on an Iraqi army checkpoint in northern Iraq killed at least nine soldiers Thursday, police said. The attack occurred at about 9 a.m. in Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, a police officer said on condition of anonymity out of concern for his own safety. Ten Iraqi soldiers and five civilians were wounded, the officer said.
The city is located in Diyala province, which has seen some of the worst violence recently as mostly Sunni militants are believed to have fled to the area since U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a security crackdown in Baghdad on Feb. 14. On Wednesday, four Iraqi police officers were killed when a suicide bomber struck a police station in the Diyala city of Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Two days earlier, a double-suicide bombing struck a paratrooper outpost in the province, killing nine U.S. troops. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility. In other violence on Thursday, two suicide bombers attacked an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, killing three of its guards and wounding five, police said.
The casualties could have been higher if guards had not opened fire on the two attackers, forcing them to detonate their explosives at least 50 yards from the office, police said. The attack occurred at about 8 a.m. in Zumar, a town that is 45 miles west of Mosul, the capital of Ninevah province. It was the second suicide attack this week aimed at the KDP in that area.
On Monday, a suicide car bomber attacked a KDP office in another town near Mosul, which is 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and wounding 20. In a separate attack in Mosul on Monday, suspected insurgents assassinated a local KDP official in a drive-by-shooting, police said.
The city is located in Diyala province, which has seen some of the worst violence recently as mostly Sunni militants are believed to have fled to the area since U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a security crackdown in Baghdad on Feb. 14. On Wednesday, four Iraqi police officers were killed when a suicide bomber struck a police station in the Diyala city of Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Two days earlier, a double-suicide bombing struck a paratrooper outpost in the province, killing nine U.S. troops. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility. In other violence on Thursday, two suicide bombers attacked an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, killing three of its guards and wounding five, police said.
The casualties could have been higher if guards had not opened fire on the two attackers, forcing them to detonate their explosives at least 50 yards from the office, police said. The attack occurred at about 8 a.m. in Zumar, a town that is 45 miles west of Mosul, the capital of Ninevah province. It was the second suicide attack this week aimed at the KDP in that area.
On Monday, a suicide car bomber attacked a KDP office in another town near Mosul, which is 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and wounding 20. In a separate attack in Mosul on Monday, suspected insurgents assassinated a local KDP official in a drive-by-shooting, police said.
Labels: Iraqi Army, KDP, Khalis, suicide attacks, Zumar
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1100 GMT on Saturday:
* denotes new or updated items
* MUSSAYAB - Mussayab mayor Mehdi Abdul Hussein al-Najem and two of his bodyguards were killed in an ambush, police said. A roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicles in the attack at Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, and gunmen then opened fire.
BAGHDAD - One soldier was killed and two others were wounded when they were hit by a roadside bomb during a patrol southwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said
KHALIS - The bodies of eight people were found in Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source said. All showed signs of torture and four had been beheaded.
BAGHDAD - A bomb planted in a minibus in Baghdad's Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City killed up to two people and wounded about five others, police said. Another bus next to it was also hit by the blast.
KIRKUK - Gunmen stormed a house and killed four members of the same family -- a wife, husband and their two children -- in the city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
DIWANIYA - One Polish soldier was killed and four more were wounded in a roadside bomb attack near Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, on Friday, Poland's Ministry of Defence said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb attack on a U.S. military patrol wounded two soldiers at Baladiat, east of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
MUSSAYAB - An Iraqi civilian was found shot dead in Mussayab, police said.
* denotes new or updated items
* MUSSAYAB - Mussayab mayor Mehdi Abdul Hussein al-Najem and two of his bodyguards were killed in an ambush, police said. A roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicles in the attack at Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, and gunmen then opened fire.
BAGHDAD - One soldier was killed and two others were wounded when they were hit by a roadside bomb during a patrol southwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said
KHALIS - The bodies of eight people were found in Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source said. All showed signs of torture and four had been beheaded.
BAGHDAD - A bomb planted in a minibus in Baghdad's Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City killed up to two people and wounded about five others, police said. Another bus next to it was also hit by the blast.
KIRKUK - Gunmen stormed a house and killed four members of the same family -- a wife, husband and their two children -- in the city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
DIWANIYA - One Polish soldier was killed and four more were wounded in a roadside bomb attack near Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, on Friday, Poland's Ministry of Defence said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb attack on a U.S. military patrol wounded two soldiers at Baladiat, east of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
MUSSAYAB - An Iraqi civilian was found shot dead in Mussayab, police said.
Labels: ambush, Baghdad, bomb, Diwaniya, gunmen, Khalis, Kirkuk, Mehdi Abdul Hussein al-Najem, Mussayab, roadside bombs
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Security developments across Iraq on Monday 9 April
(AP) - A log of developments from across the country on fourth anniversary of Baghdad's fall. A total of 25 people were killed or found dead in Iraq on Monday, according to police and morgues. Follow link for full events.
-4:30 a.m. Clashes erupted again in Buhriz, about 35 miles north of Baghdad, between gunmen and al-Qaida in Iraq fighters. Thirty civilians and gunmen were wounded, Diyala provincial police said. Al-Qaida casualties were not known.
-10 a.m. Diwaniyah police south of Baghdad said U.S troops raided the Badr Brigade militia office and detained four guards. The militia is the military wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the most powerful Shiite political party in the country, with deep links to Iran. U.S. and Iraqi forces continued patrols of two Diwaniyah neighborhoods in the fourth day of an operation there to clear it of Mahdi Army militia forces loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
-10:30 a.m. A mortar round hit Baghdad's southern Dora district near the al-Sadreen Shiite mosque, killing one person and wounding two others, a Dora police officer said.
-10:30 a.m. Baqouba police reported finding the body of Sheik Ahmed Ibrahim, the imam at the al-Twubaa Sunni mosque. Police said the sheik was shot in the head and chest and had been tortured.
-1 p.m. The demonstration in Kufa and Najaf ends without incident after three hours.
-3:20 p.m. Diwaniyah police said the toll from the U.S.-Iraqi operation there against the Mahdi Army was 14 dead and 47 wounded since Friday. The figure includes both militants and civilians but gives no breakdown.
-5 p.m. Drive-by shooters killed Sheik Gelan Abdullah, member of Khalis city council and the preacher at the Sunni mosque. He was killed near his home in Hibhib, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, police said.
-10:03 p.m. Col. Tariq Yousif Theeyab, head of security forces in Anbar province, said 12 trucks loaded with chlorine gas have been seized at the border with Syria. Nine trucks carrying ammonium oxide also were held. The truck manifests said the chemicals were for the Ministry of Water Resources, but because of a series of suicide truck bombings using chlorine, the shipments were impounded while further checks were made.
Labels: al-Sadreen mosque, Badr Corps, Baqouba, Buhriz, chlorine gas trucks, Khalis, Mahdi Army, Sheik Ahmed Ibrahim, Sheik Gelan Abdullah
Monday, April 09, 2007
Round-up of violence across Iraq
Security
(Reuters) - Security developments in Iraq as of 1050 GMT on Monday (follow the link for further information):
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 17 people, some bearing signs of torture, were found across Baghdad during the past 24 hours, police said. Many of the bodies are thought to be victims of sectarian violence.
KHALIS - Gunmen assassinated Jalal al-Daini, a tribal leader, in the town of Khalis, 80 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
KIRKUK - Police said they found the body of a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who was stabbed to death near the northern city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
NAJAF - Tens of thousands of Iraqis converged on the city of Najaf to denounce the U.S.-led occupation on the fourth anniversary of the occupation in Iraq.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of 17 people, some bearing signs of torture, were found across Baghdad during the past 24 hours, police said. Many of the bodies are thought to be victims of sectarian violence.
KHALIS - Gunmen assassinated Jalal al-Daini, a tribal leader, in the town of Khalis, 80 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
KIRKUK - Police said they found the body of a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who was stabbed to death near the northern city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
NAJAF - Tens of thousands of Iraqis converged on the city of Najaf to denounce the U.S.-led occupation on the fourth anniversary of the occupation in Iraq.
Labels: assassination, Baghdad, bodies, Jalal al-Daini, KDP, Khalis, Kirkuk, Najaf, tribal leader
Friday, March 30, 2007
Multiple suicide bombings kill 130
Security
(Gulf News) - Suicide bombers killed nearly 130 people and wounding more than 150 in a crowded market in a Shiite district of Baghdad and a mainly Shiite town on Thursday. Five suicide bombers struck Shiite marketplaces in northeast Baghdad and a town north of the capital at nightfall Thursday in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years.
The upsurge in sectarian violence threatens all-out civil war and Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, a Shiite, called for restraint and urged Iraqis to work with security forces to prevent the violence spiraling out of control. Bombs earlier this week in northern Iraq sparked mass reprisal killings.
Two suicide bombers wearing vests packed with explosives killed 76 people in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, police and medical sources said, in what appeared to be the latest of a string of attacks on Shi'ite districts and towns blamed on Al Qaida. More than 100 were wounded. Most of the victims were women and children, who had been out shopping in the crowded market before the start of the nightly curfew, he said.
At about the same time, three suicide car bombs exploded within minutes of each other in Khalis, 80 km north of Baghdad, killing 53 people and wounding 103, police said. There has been a spike in bloodshed, particularly outside the Iraqi capital, in recent days. Violence between majority Shiites and minority Sunnis has killed tens of thousands in the past year. Iraq's Sunni vice-president urged the Shiite-led government to do more to purge the security forces of militias.
In Khalis, one car bomb exploded in a commercial area and a second at a police checkpoint leading to the police headquarters and court building, police said. A third bomber attacked police patrols rushing to the scene.
The upsurge in sectarian violence threatens all-out civil war and Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, a Shiite, called for restraint and urged Iraqis to work with security forces to prevent the violence spiraling out of control. Bombs earlier this week in northern Iraq sparked mass reprisal killings.
Two suicide bombers wearing vests packed with explosives killed 76 people in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, police and medical sources said, in what appeared to be the latest of a string of attacks on Shi'ite districts and towns blamed on Al Qaida. More than 100 were wounded. Most of the victims were women and children, who had been out shopping in the crowded market before the start of the nightly curfew, he said.
At about the same time, three suicide car bombs exploded within minutes of each other in Khalis, 80 km north of Baghdad, killing 53 people and wounding 103, police said. There has been a spike in bloodshed, particularly outside the Iraqi capital, in recent days. Violence between majority Shiites and minority Sunnis has killed tens of thousands in the past year. Iraq's Sunni vice-president urged the Shiite-led government to do more to purge the security forces of militias.
In Khalis, one car bomb exploded in a commercial area and a second at a police checkpoint leading to the police headquarters and court building, police said. A third bomber attacked police patrols rushing to the scene.
Labels: Khalis, markets, Shaab district, suicide bomber
