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| Iraq |
| Iraq prison convoy ambushed north of Baghdad |
| 2014-07-25 |
| Gunmen attacked a prisoner convoy north of Baghdad on Thursday, setting off a gunbattle with troops in which scores of prisoners and eight soldiers were killed, brutally underscoring Iraq’s instability as lawmakers convened to elect a new president. The dawn attack began with militants firing mortar rounds on Iraqi army bases in the town of Taji, where suspects were being held on terrorism charges, prompting authorities to evacuate the facilities, fearing a jailbreak, officials said. As the convoy travelled through a remote area nearby, roadside bombs went off and militants opened fire. The ensuing battle left 52 prisoners and eight soldiers dead, with another eight soldiers and seven prisoners wounded, they said. It was not immediately clear if the prisoners were killed by soldiers or militants, or if the Islamic State group was involved. The town of Taji is located some 20 kilometres north of the capital. Islamic State militants have staged several jailbreaks, including a complex, military-style assault on two Baghdad-area prisons in July 2013 that freed more than 500 inmates. Apparently fearing a repeat of the incident, Shia militiamen killed nearly four dozen Sunni detainees last month in the town of Baqouba northwest of Baghdad when the facility where they were being held came under attack, according to a report by Amnesty International. The report documented a “pattern of extrajudicial executions” of mainly Sunni detainees by forces loyal to the Shia-led government, both in Baqouba and in the north, basing its conclusions on interviews with survivors and relatives of those killed. |
| Posted by:Steve White |