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Insurgents strike across Sunni Triangle
Looks like itâs going to be a long week.About 70 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a wave of attacks across Iraq - less than a week before the handover of power. The worst attacks were in the city of Mosul, where at least 44 people died and 216 were hurt in a series of car bombings, Iraqâs health ministry said. At least 22 people died in attacks in the towns of Baquba, Ramadi and Falluja. A statement on a Saudi web site on behalf of Jordanian-born Islamist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed his group carried out the Baquba attack. Arabic TV channel Al Jazeera showed insurgents in Baquba claiming to be al-Zarqawi followers. There are reports of between four and seven bombings in Mosul. In Baquba, 55km (35 miles) north-east of Baghdad, witnesses described how masked men dressed in black took control of the main road. They attacked a police station with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. US military spokesman, Major Neal OâBrien, said a US patrol had been attacked in Baquba. "The patrol returned fire, killing two insurgents. There also have been reports of indiscriminate fire, landing in populated areas. Theyâre firing mortars indiscriminately," Major OâBrien said. Two US soldiers died in the Baquba fighting and seven were wounded, the US army said. In Ramadi, 100km west of the capital, similarly black-clad insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at two police stations, police said. "We discovered later on that the police station was attacked from all around." Seven people were killed and 13 were wounded in the attack, hospital officials said. Two other groups of insurgents attacked a second police station and a government building. In Falluja, the US military said a Cobra helicopter had been shot down but there were no casualties. US warplanes and helicopter gunships were flying low over the city in response to gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. Residents were seen fleeing towards the main road out of the city. Four members of Iraqâs national guard died and two people were hurt in the Baghdad car bomb blast. The attack took place at a checkpoint in the southern district of Dora. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US army in Iraq, said clashes in the affected cities had subsided by noon (0800 GMT). "With the exception of what we are seeing in Baquba, most seem to be under control right now," he said. Posted by: Paul Moloney 2004-06-24 |
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