Submit your comments on this article |
Iraq |
Run on Virgins in Diyala - 1584 ordered up by locals |
2007-12-17 |
AT least 39 people were killed in fierce clashes today between suspected al-Qaeda fighters and Sunni Arab villagers in the Iraqi province of Diyala, north-east of Baghdad, police said. Baquba police Colonel Khairallah Ibrahim said two Sunni villages were attacked by al-Qaeda militants. "Fierce fighting broke out between the villagers and al-Qaeda fighters in which 17 villagers and 22 al-Qaeda militants have been killed," he said. Col Ibrahim said three women were among the villagers killed. "Most of those killed from the villages were members of the anti-Qaeda front formed recently in the area," said another police officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim al-Obeidi. Lt-Col Obeidi said that the two villages, Annaih and Sfayed, were previously al-Qaeda strongholds before locals aligned with the US military. Thousands of Sunni Arab men have formed "Awakening Councils", or anti-Qaeda fronts, with the help of the US military to fight the al-Qaeda in Iraq group. In the past few months such councils have often faced attack from al-Qaeda, battling to get them to rejoin the insurgency. The US and Iraqi forces are currently involved in massive assaults against al-Qaeda in Iraq operators in the flashpoint province of Diyala. |
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
#1 Is it too soon to talk about drafting Petraeus for President? |
Posted by: doc 2007-12-17 21:39 |