Baghdad - A fresh wave of violence gripped Iraq on Saturday
leaving at least 27 people dead in five separate incidents in and
around the capital Baghdad, according to Iraqi authorities and local
news reports.
In the town of al-Muqdadiyah, on the suburbs on the north-eastern
Sunni-dominated Baquba province, 12 Iraqis belonging to one family
were killed when a group of unidentified gunmen stormed into their
houses and opened fire on them. The attackers fled immediately after
the bloodbath, a police source said.
The incident happened even as US Arrowhead Ripper operations and
raids continued across Baquba, 60 kilometres north-east of Baghdad.
During past weeks, the US military - with the aid of local security
forces - had reportedly killed over 100 al-Qaeda-affiliated militants
and captured around 250 others.
In another incident, a group of unknown militants attacked a house
in al-Hilla, 100 kilometres south of Baghdad, shooting dead nine
people and wounding three others. The victims in the dawn attack
included a number of women and children, according to police sources.
In Baghdad, at least two Iraqi civilians were killed and 15 others
wounded when an explosives-laden vehicle detonated near a fuel
station in the southern Baghdad area of al-Mashn, the Iraqi police
told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Al-Mashn is a busy commercial area near the so-called Rashid Camp
and is usually crowded with people during the time of the day when
the blast occurred.
Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and five others were wounded when
a group of unidentified gunmen attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in
northern Baquba, capital of Diyala province, official police sources
told VOI.
Meanwhile, the same news source reported that one gunman was
killed and two others injured 'while planting an explosive device' on
a main road leading to al-Khalis, 62 kilometres east of Baghdad.
The two wounded gunmen have been moved to a hospital for
treatment, and are currently under police custody.
On a different note, the US-led coalition said Saturday that a
militant, suspected to be a senior al-Qaeda leader in Iraq,
'surrendered' to their forces during a raid in Mosul, 400 kilometres
north of Baghdad.
The arrested leader is allegedly the 'security emir' of Mosul
'operating terrorist cells in the area and maintaining connections to
other high-level al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders,' the statement said.
The multinational forces had detained 18 other suspected
terrorists during early morning operations in central and northern
Iraq targeting insurgents and terrorist cell leaders.
Separately, VOI reported that Kirkuk's police forces dismantled a
cell belonging to the so-called al-Ashreen (1920) Revolution
Brigades.
The forces arrested three persons, including a key member called
Abu Qudama, in a security operation early Saturday. Abu Qudama is
allegedly the militant group's financial and administrative official.
Meanwhile in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, local authorities
decided to lift a 24-hour curfew that was imposed early Friday to
curb violence and protect Shiite pilgrims visiting the Iman Ali
shrine.
A spokesman for the city council in Najaf had earlier justified
the blanket curfew by saying there was the risk of 'possible
terrorist acts of revenge.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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