Insurgents Attack Police Chief's Home
14 Killed, 2 Abducted in Assault in Diyala
BAGHDAD, June 8 -- A large band of insurgents laid waste to a police commander's house north of Baghdad on Friday, killing the man's wife, a son, two brothers and 10 guards -- including many from his extended family -- and kidnapping at least two of his children, Iraqi security officials said.
The attack occurred at the home of Col. Ali Dilayan al-Jorani, the police chief of Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. In recent months, the city has become a center of violence aimed at fueling ethnic and sectarian hatred.
Dozens more Iraqis were killed in other violence Friday. A car bomb and a suicide bomber exploded among worshipers at a Shiite mosque during and after Friday prayers in Dakok, about 30 miles south of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. At least 19 people were killed and 22 were wounded in the attacks, according to Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir, deputy police chief of Kirkuk.
Baqubah is the capital of Diyala province, a region north of Baghdad that this year has become the most violent area in the country outside the capital. U.S. military officials say they believe much of the violence is being fueled by the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is being pushed out of its stronghold in Anbar province to the west by tribal groups and is also is fleeing a U.S. troop buildup in Baghdad.
Diyala has a mixed Shiite-Sunni population and a large number of Kurds, who have been the target of brutal ethnic violence. In addition to strikes by al-Qaeda in Iraq on Sunni targets, Shiite militias carry out frequent attacks in Diyala.
Witnesses told police that the attack on the police chief's house, located in the small tribal village of Kanaan just outside the city, occurred at 8 a.m. when about 50 insurgents stormed up in mismatched cars, according to Ali al-Khaiyam, a spokesman for the local joint operations center for U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Khaiyam said the gunmen, believed to be from al-Qaeda in Iraq, apparently thought Jorani would be home, but he was not.
Jorani, 50, whose family is Sunni, became chief about two months ago, after serving as head of Baqubah's military recruiting center, Khaiyam said. The Reuters news service quoted an unnamed local official as saying that Jorani was "directly responsible" for the killing of three al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters in Diyala this week.
Meanwhile, a minivan packed with munitions exploded Friday in a bus terminal in southern Iraq, killing 16 people and wounding 32, apparently because the vehicle's interior got too hot in the sweltering heat, a local police official said.
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Hammadi, police chief in the port city of Basra, told reporters that the vehicle had been stuffed with rockets, ammunition, C4 and other explosive materials and left in the terminal's garage in nearby Qurnah for more than a day. The blast detonated a second car nearby that also was loaded with explosive materials, he said, adding that the munitions were destined for Baghdad.
Other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.
By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, June 9, 2007; Page A13
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
The Washington Post
Washington USA
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802608.html
BAGHDAD, June 8 -- A large band of insurgents laid waste to a police commander's house north of Baghdad on Friday, killing the man's wife, a son, two brothers and 10 guards -- including many from his extended family -- and kidnapping at least two of his children, Iraqi security officials said.
The attack occurred at the home of Col. Ali Dilayan al-Jorani, the police chief of Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. In recent months, the city has become a center of violence aimed at fueling ethnic and sectarian hatred.
Dozens more Iraqis were killed in other violence Friday. A car bomb and a suicide bomber exploded among worshipers at a Shiite mosque during and after Friday prayers in Dakok, about 30 miles south of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. At least 19 people were killed and 22 were wounded in the attacks, according to Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir, deputy police chief of Kirkuk.
Baqubah is the capital of Diyala province, a region north of Baghdad that this year has become the most violent area in the country outside the capital. U.S. military officials say they believe much of the violence is being fueled by the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is being pushed out of its stronghold in Anbar province to the west by tribal groups and is also is fleeing a U.S. troop buildup in Baghdad.
Diyala has a mixed Shiite-Sunni population and a large number of Kurds, who have been the target of brutal ethnic violence. In addition to strikes by al-Qaeda in Iraq on Sunni targets, Shiite militias carry out frequent attacks in Diyala.
Witnesses told police that the attack on the police chief's house, located in the small tribal village of Kanaan just outside the city, occurred at 8 a.m. when about 50 insurgents stormed up in mismatched cars, according to Ali al-Khaiyam, a spokesman for the local joint operations center for U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Khaiyam said the gunmen, believed to be from al-Qaeda in Iraq, apparently thought Jorani would be home, but he was not.
Jorani, 50, whose family is Sunni, became chief about two months ago, after serving as head of Baqubah's military recruiting center, Khaiyam said. The Reuters news service quoted an unnamed local official as saying that Jorani was "directly responsible" for the killing of three al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters in Diyala this week.
Meanwhile, a minivan packed with munitions exploded Friday in a bus terminal in southern Iraq, killing 16 people and wounding 32, apparently because the vehicle's interior got too hot in the sweltering heat, a local police official said.
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Hammadi, police chief in the port city of Basra, told reporters that the vehicle had been stuffed with rockets, ammunition, C4 and other explosive materials and left in the terminal's garage in nearby Qurnah for more than a day. The blast detonated a second car nearby that also was loaded with explosive materials, he said, adding that the munitions were destined for Baghdad.
Other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.
By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, June 9, 2007; Page A13
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
The Washington Post
Washington USA
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802608.html
posted by Raul at
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