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| Iraq |
| Iraq militants fail to take hostages |
| 2012-01-16 |
| BAGHDAD: Ten people were killed when gunmen wearing explosive belts stormed a police building in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday, police and provincial officials said. The attack in mainly Sunni Anbar province followed several weeks of bombings after the eruption of a political crisis that has threatened to break up the coalition government and raised fears of renewed sectarian violence. The assault in Ramadi, a onetime Al-Qaeda hotspot where militants frequently attack government facilities, provided a new test for Iraqi security forces without the support of US troops, the last of which pulled out in mid-December, nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Six gunmen, three policemen and a civilian died in the assault on the Ramadi police building, which houses an anti-terrorism unit and a jail, and 18 other people were wounded, police and hospital sources said. One of the attackers detonated his explosive belt at the entrance to the police building and others tried unsuccessfully to take hostages but were repulsed by intense gunfire from security forces inside, police and provincial officials said. Three of the gunmen were killed by police gunfire and three blew themselves up, the last after he was cornered by security forces on a rooftop, the officials said. Ramadi, the Anbar provincial capital, witnessed some of the worst violence during the height of the war that followed the 2003 US-led invasion. It was the heart of a Sunni insurgency. Anbar tribal leaders and thousands of Sunni insurgents eventually turned against Al-Qaeda and formed the Sahwa militia, which joined US forces and helped turn the tide of the war. Iraqi security officials have expressed concern that Al-Qaeda may regroup in Anbar following the US withdrawal. Anbar has had testy relations with the central government recently, particularly following an arrest campaign against former members of Saddam's banned Baath party. Local officials have suggested Anbar might join other Sunni-majority provinces in seeking more autonomy. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 GJ Iraqis |
| Posted by: Sleamp Smiter of the Huns8670 2012-01-16 12:35 |