Sunni village attacked, leader killed

[rodeodance]

Source: ap

Sunni village attacked, leader killed

By BUSHRA JUHI, Associated Press Writer 53 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Alleged al-Qaida fighters attacked a Sunni village east of Baqouba on Thursday and killed a village leader who had led the community in an uprising against the terrorist organization, witnesses and police said.


The attack by about 25 gunmen on the Ibrahim al-Yahya village began at 6:30 a.m. when the fighters exploded a bomb at the house of the sheik, destroying his home and killing him and one member of his family.

Ten people were wounded, including four other members of the family and passers-by. Some of the wounded were hit by gunfire.

"They were shouting Allah Akbar and Curse be upon the Renegades," said Umm Ahmed, who was among the three women wounded in the attack. She refused to give her full name fearing retribution. "This attack will cause the uprising against them to spread to other villages."

A police vehicle rushing to the attack scene crashed and two policemen were killed, according to officials in the Diyala provincial police force who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070823/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070822203348;_ylt=AoC5BZ1fUwUa7.wdITmc12UUewgF

[annabanana]

1. "Alleged al-Qaida fighters ". . I have questions...

What IS "al-Qaida in Iraq" these days, anyway?

[Kagemusha]

3. People who like the Al Qaeda brand name and who fight in Iraq.

And who don't mind being blamed for other groups' own work because they like the notoriety and it advances the cause.

Not much else

[cal04]

2. Women and children taken in fierce Iraq Qaeda battle

Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 15 Iraqi women and children after rival Sunni Arab militants repelled their attack on two villages in a fierce battle on Thursday in which 32 people were killed, police said.

The fighting, rare on such a large scale, underscored the growing split between Sunni Arab militant groups and al Qaeda that U.S. forces have sought to exploit as they try to quell sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands.

U.S. President George W. Bush, under pressure to show progress in the war or start bringing troops home, on Wednesday compared Iraq to Vietnam in urging Americans to be patient. His administration had previously avoided such comparisons, saying there were few parallels.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1339502007

[Eugene]

4. (additional - disclosed Friday) Police Station Attacked in Iraq; 3 Dead

Source: Associated Press

Police Station Attacked in Iraq; 3 Dead

Friday August 24, 2007 9:01 AM

By SAMEER N. YACOUB

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD (AP) - Sixty suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighters
hit national police facilities in a coordinated attack in
Samarra, sparking two hours of fighting that saw three
people killed and more than a dozen insurgents captured,
police said Friday.

The masked attackers drove into the city at dusk Thursday
in about 20 vehicles, including pickups with machine-guns,
then split into small groups and assaulted four police
checkpoints and a headquarters building, a Samarra police
official said.

One policeman and two civilians - a woman and an 11-year-
old girl - were killed in the fighting in the city 60 miles north
of Baghdad, and nine others were injured including a police
commando and three children. There were no details on
insurgent casualties, but police arrested 14 suspects, the
spokesman saidon condition of anonymity because he was
not authorized to release the information.

The brazen attack came after early morning assaults by
suspected al-Qaida fighters on two villages to the
southeast of Samarra near Baqouba, where fighters bombed
the house of a local Sunni sheik and kidnapped a group of
mostly women.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6873127,00.html