Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
January 17, 2008
Pg. 16
By Amit R. Paley, Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD, Jan. 16 -- A woman wearing an explosives-packed vest killed at least seven people Wednesday when she blew herself up in volatile Diyala province, U.S. military officials said.
The attack was at least the fourth carried out by a female suicide bomber in Iraq since November, a sign that women are being used more frequently in insurgent assaults. Women reportedly carried out 11 suicide bombings in the previous 4 1/2 years.
The bombing took place at 9 a.m. in the town of Khan Bani Saad, in southern Diyala province, where Sunni insurgents have recently fled after being driven out of Baghdad and Anbar province to the west.
Lt. Col. Ismail al-Jubory, a spokesman for the Diyala police, said eight civilians were killed and seven injured. The U.S. military said seven people were killed and 15 wounded.
Three U.S. soldiers were shot and killed in the neighboring northern province of Salahuddin, the military said. Two soldiers were wounded.
The violence came a week after the U.S. military launched a major offensive in the north to drive out insurgents, including al-Qaeda in Iraq, a Sunni group that U.S. officials say they believe is foreign-led.
"This type of attack is very tragic, but it is no surprise that al-Qaeda in Iraq chose to attack at this time by using a suicide bomber against civilians," Lt. Col. James Brown said in a statement, referring to the Diyala assault. "Our recent operations in the area have resulted in the death of several key AQI leaders and have helped bring reconciliation between the area's tribal leaders."
U.S. military officials said a key al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, identified as Abu Abd al-Rahman, also known as Abu Layla al-Suri, was killed Dec. 30 in Diyala province in a firefight with U.S. troops.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government announced that a 48-hour vehicle ban would go into effect Thursday night in Diyala, Baghdad and all of southern Iraq in an effort to control violence surrounding Ashura, one of the holiest Shiite holidays, when thousands make a pilgrimage to the city of Karbala.
In Baghdad, two roadside bombs exploded near a college campus in the Bab al-Muadham area, killing three students and wounding 11, an Interior Ministry official said.
And two members of a U.S.-backed Sunni militia were killed and four civilians were wounded when armed men attacked a Baghdad checkpoint manned by the militia, known also as an "awakening council."
Special correspondents Zaid Sabah, K.I. Ibrahim, Naseer Nouri, Saad al-Izzi and Dalya Hassan contributed to this report.
January 17, 2008
Pg. 16
By Amit R. Paley, Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD, Jan. 16 -- A woman wearing an explosives-packed vest killed at least seven people Wednesday when she blew herself up in volatile Diyala province, U.S. military officials said.
The attack was at least the fourth carried out by a female suicide bomber in Iraq since November, a sign that women are being used more frequently in insurgent assaults. Women reportedly carried out 11 suicide bombings in the previous 4 1/2 years.
The bombing took place at 9 a.m. in the town of Khan Bani Saad, in southern Diyala province, where Sunni insurgents have recently fled after being driven out of Baghdad and Anbar province to the west.
Lt. Col. Ismail al-Jubory, a spokesman for the Diyala police, said eight civilians were killed and seven injured. The U.S. military said seven people were killed and 15 wounded.
Three U.S. soldiers were shot and killed in the neighboring northern province of Salahuddin, the military said. Two soldiers were wounded.
The violence came a week after the U.S. military launched a major offensive in the north to drive out insurgents, including al-Qaeda in Iraq, a Sunni group that U.S. officials say they believe is foreign-led.
"This type of attack is very tragic, but it is no surprise that al-Qaeda in Iraq chose to attack at this time by using a suicide bomber against civilians," Lt. Col. James Brown said in a statement, referring to the Diyala assault. "Our recent operations in the area have resulted in the death of several key AQI leaders and have helped bring reconciliation between the area's tribal leaders."
U.S. military officials said a key al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, identified as Abu Abd al-Rahman, also known as Abu Layla al-Suri, was killed Dec. 30 in Diyala province in a firefight with U.S. troops.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government announced that a 48-hour vehicle ban would go into effect Thursday night in Diyala, Baghdad and all of southern Iraq in an effort to control violence surrounding Ashura, one of the holiest Shiite holidays, when thousands make a pilgrimage to the city of Karbala.
In Baghdad, two roadside bombs exploded near a college campus in the Bab al-Muadham area, killing three students and wounding 11, an Interior Ministry official said.
And two members of a U.S.-backed Sunni militia were killed and four civilians were wounded when armed men attacked a Baghdad checkpoint manned by the militia, known also as an "awakening council."
Special correspondents Zaid Sabah, K.I. Ibrahim, Naseer Nouri, Saad al-Izzi and Dalya Hassan contributed to this report.