TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2007
15:51 MECCA TIME, 12:51 GMT
Iraq attacks strike volunteer force
The Baquba funeral procession prior to the blast
that killed 10 people [AFP]
At least 20 people have been killed and scores wounded
by a truck bomb in the oil refining city of Baiji in
northern Iraq.
Hours later a suicide bomber wearing a vest packed
with explosives struck a funeral in Baquba, killing 10
people.
Both attacks on Tuesday appear to have targeted Sunni
armed groups that have been working with the US.
The bomber in Baiji detonated his explosives when
police and members of a volunteer security force
prevented him from entering the gate of a compound
housing employees of state-run North Oil Company.
Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an interior ministry
spokesman, said the bomber's target was the
checkpoint, manned by members of a local neighbourhood
watch and the Oil Protection Force, rather than the
residential complex.
Neighbourhood patrols, which are mainly Sunni and
include many men who previously fought against the
US-led forces, have been credited with helping to
reduce violence. But they are increasingly under
attack from al-Qaeda loyalists.
The explosion at Baiji was so large it left a
2.5m-deep crater in the road and wounded at least 80
people. It destroyed a guardhouse near the complex and
smashed the windows and fronts of nearby apartment
buildings.
Among those killed were members of the volunteer
force, guards of the oil company and civilians,
including at least three children, the police officer
said.
The interior minister ordered the dismissal and
interrogation of Saad Nufous, Baiji's police chief,
shortly after the attack.
"There was a decision by the interior minister to fire
the Baiji police chief," a ministry spokesman said.
Baquba attack
In Baquba, a bomber blew himself up in the middle of a
funeral procession, killing at least four people from
a similar group fighting al-Qaeda, police and medics
said.
A wounded fighter of the Brigades of 20th Revolution
receives treatment at Baquba hospital [AFP]
The US military said 10 Iraqis were killed in total
and five wounded in the attack.
A doctor from Baquba hospital confirmed the
casualties.
Police Lieutenant-Colonel Najim al-Sumaidaie said the
procession was marking the death of two members of the
Brigades of 1920 Revolution who were killed on Monday
by the US military.
"The two were killed by mistake and the funeral was
being held today when the suicide bomber attacked," he
said.
The latest bombings highlighted al-Qaeda's fight back
against the mushrooming number of groups across Iraq
that oppose it.
About 80,000 Sunni Arabs who were formerly opposed to
the US military now fight alongside them. They have
turned on al-Qaeda in several Sunni regions of the
country.
Attacks have increased in northern Iraq after armed
groups were pushed out of western and central regions
following a series of military operations.
US and Iraqi forces are currently involved in a wide
scale military sweep in the northern provinces of
Salah al-Din, which includes Baiji, Nineveh and
Kirkuk.
Source: Agencies
---------------
Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo
Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu
dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif.
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