Report: Sunni Extremists Attack Village (Diyala province)

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Report: Sunni Extremists Attack Village

By LEE KEATH
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 10, 2007; 6:54 AM

BAGHDAD -- Sunni extremists attacked an isolated village
northwest of Baghdad in a fierce battle with residents that
reportedly left dozens dead, the deputy governor of Iraq's
Diyala province said Tuesday.

Residents of the village of Sherween called Deputy Gov. Auf
Rahim appealing for help, saying there were no Iraqi police
or army units nearby to protect them, according to an
Associated Press reporter who was in Rahim's office in the
city of Baqouba when he received the call.

Rahim said he was told in the call that the attackers were
believed to belong to al-Qaida and that the fighting the was
still going on but the insurgents appeared to have control
over the village. It was not clear how many extremists were
involved.

Rahim said the villagers reported that 25 extremists and
18 local residents were killed in the battles and 40 people
wounded. The casualty figures could not be independently
confirmed.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071000280.html

---

Source: Reuters

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, July 10
10 Jul 2007 09:51:50 GMT

July 10 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq
at 0930 GMT on Tuesday:

* denotes new or updated item:

* SAMARRA - Gunmen killed five Iraqi soldiers and wounded
three others when they attacked a military checkpoint near
Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

-snip-

BAGHDAD - Gunmen kidnapped army Brigadier-General Abdul
Razaq Asel, director of a joint security centre in the
northern city of Mosul, while he was visiting his family in
the Adhamiya district in Baghdad on Monday, police said.

BAGHDAD - Police found the bodies of 26 people around
Baghdad on Monday. Most had been shot, victims of
sectarian death squads.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10871585.htm

[Eugene]

1. Detainee dies at Camp Cropper

Source: MNF Iraq

Detainee dies at Camp Cropper
Tuesday, 10 July 2007

MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
PRESS DESK
BAGHDAD, Iraq
http://www.mnf-iraq.com
703.343.8790

July 10, 2007
Release A070710b

Detainee dies at Camp Cropper

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A security detainee died at the Theater
Internment Facility at Camp Cropper, Iraq July 7 from
injuries sustained after apparently being assaulted by
other detainees.

The detainee was pronounced dead at 2:10 a.m. by an
attending physician at Camp Cropper’s medical facility.
The incident is currently under investigation.

The family will receive the remains upon completion of the
investigation, in accordance with standard procedure.


Read more: http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12772&Itemid=21

---

Related: FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, July 10 - Reuters

[Barrett808]

2. Sunni extremists put village under siege

Source: Associated Press

Sunni extremists put village under siege
By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - Sunni extremists have seized control of a remote village northeast of Baghdad in a fierce battle with residents who pleaded for rescue by Iraqi army and police as they tried to defend their homes, the deputy provincial governor said Tuesday.

The reported fighting in Sherween, located in Diyala province on Baghdad's northern gates, underlines the continued struggle in the area where militants believed to be from al-Qaida in Iraq have reportedly left graves of victims in areas under their grip.

It also points to a critical problem facing U.S. commanders: the lack of enough fully trained Iraqi soldiers and police to provide security in areas beyond the scope of American military operations. The weaknesses of Iraqi security forces — and questions over how soon they could control the country on their own — have complicated the war debate in Washington as domestic pressure mounts for an American withdrawal.

U.S. commanders acknowledge Iraqi security forces are unable to stand on their own despite three years of efforts to train them. Devastating suicide bombings north of Baghdad over the weekend raised sharp criticism from Iraqi politicians that the country's troops were failing to provide protection.

...

Diyala Deputy Gov. Auf Rahim said a Sherween resident called him Tuesday and said insurgents launched an attack on the village the day before and that fighting was still raging. "Come help us or they will slaughter us all," Rahim said the resident told him in the call. Armed villagers were fighting back, but the attackers appeared to have largely gained control, Rahim told The Associated Press.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070710/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_village_battle

[Eugene]

3. U.S.-Iraqi Forces Retake Village

Source: Associated Press

U.S.-Iraqi Forces Retake Village

Wednesday July 11, 2007 11:46 AM

By LEE KEATH

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. and Iraqi forces drove out Sunni
extremists who had attacked a remote village northeast
of Baghdad, a U.S. commander said Wednesday.

The militants had fled north from a U.S. offensive in the
city of Baqouba, where American forces are fighting to
uproot al-Qaida in Iraq fighters and other Sunni insurgents
who used the area to attack nearby Baghdad, Lt. Col. Fred
Johnson told The Associated Press in Baqouba.

The fighters attacked the village of Sherween, 35 miles to
the northeast, on Monday, sparking a fierce battle with
armed residents trying to defend their homes, according to
the deputy governor of Diyala province, Auf Rahim, who
received a call from residents Tuesday pleading for help
from the Iraqi army.

Rahim said he was told by the residents that the fighters
had taken over the village in fighting that killed dozens
from both sides.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6771781,00.html