...

11 killed, 26 wounded in attacks in Iraq

Arab World Materials 24 May 2013 05:44 (UTC +04:00)
A total of 11 people were killed and 26 others wounded in separate attacks in Iraq on Thursday, the police said.
11 killed, 26 wounded in attacks in Iraq

A total of 11 people were killed and 26 others wounded in separate attacks in Iraq on Thursday, the police said.

Unidentified gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles attacked a checkpoint manned jointly by the army and a pro-government militia in the town of Garma near the city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attack resulted in the killing of three soldiers and the wounding of 18 others, including seven fighters whose group is known as Awakening Council, the source said.

In a separate incident, an Awakening Council member was critically wounded when a roadside bomb struck his car in Abu Ghraib area, some 20 km west of Baghdad, the source added.

The Awakening Council, or al-Sahwa in Arabic, includes some powerful former anti-U.S. Sunni insurgent groups, who turned to fight al-Qaida militants after the United States led the invasion into Iraq.

In northern Iraq, gunmen using silenced weapons shot dead a civilian in the eastern suburb of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, a local police source said.

Also Thursday, four soldiers were killed and five wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in Taji area, some 20 km north of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source anonymously told Xinhua.

In the eastern province of Diyala, three people were killed and two wounded in a bomb explosion at a mobile phone shop in the town of Kanaan near Diyala's capital of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

Violence is still common in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.

Tags:
Latest

Latest