Final toll of Kirkuk blast reaches 126 - medic

June 30, 2009 - 07:16:56

KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq:

The final toll of the blast that occurred earlier today in a vegetable market in northern Kirkuk has reached 126, according to a local medic.

“A total of 33 persons were killed and 93 others were wounded according to a final count,” Dr. Sabah Ameen al-Dawdi, the director of the Kirkuk health department, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“Twenty out of the 93 wounded were rushed to hospitals in Kurdistan region,” he added.

A security source had said earlier that the death toll from the car bomb explosion that took place in a vegetable market in al-Shourga region, northern Kirkuk, rose to 28 dead and 84 wounded.

This is the first explosion in Kirkuk, 250 km north of Baghdad, after the U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi urban centers.

SH (P)

Gunman killed in western Mosul

June 30, 2009 - 01:31:03

NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq:

An Iraqi army force killed a gunman on Tuesday in western Mosul, a source from Ninewa’s operations command said.

“Iraqi army forces on Tuesday killed a gunman on Tuesday (June 30) while attempting to open fire on a soldier at a checkpoint in al-Islah al-Zeraai neighborhood in western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The gunman was in possession of a gun of a former policeman who had been killed by gunmen,” he noted.

Mosul, the capital of Ninewa, is 405 km north of Baghdad.

SH (P)/SR

2 killed in armed attack in Salah al-Din

June 30, 2009 - 12:48:26

SALAH AL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq:

Two persons, including a serviceman, on Tuesday were killed when a group of gunmen attacked their vehicle in Salah al-Din province, according to a local police source.

“This morning, unknown gunmen attacked a civilian vehicle carrying two persons, including a military serviceman, in downtown al-Shurqat district, killing them on the spot,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Meanwhile, during an early hour this morning, other gunmen stole a Syrian truck carrying foodstuffs near Baiji district,” according to the same source. Tikrit, the capital city of Salah al-Din province, lies 175 km north of Baghdad.

SS (P)/SR

For 1st time since 2003, Baghdad streets free of U.S. troops

June 30, 2009 - 07:17:56
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq:

For the first time since the U.S.-led war in April 2003, Iraqi urban area are celebrating the withdrawal of U.S. forces from 18 provinces, launching a new phase that many observers refer to as the “post-occupation” Iraq.

On Tuesday (June 30, 2009), which has been declared an official holiday and hailed as “National Sovereignty Day,” more than 750,000 Iraqi forces have been deployed to Iraqi cities, replacing U.S. troops which have withdrawn to their bases outside the cities.

On November 27, 2008, the Iraqi Parliament passed a security pact with the United States, known as the Status-of-Forces Agreement (SOFA), 10 days after the Iraqi cabinet approved it with an overwhelming majority.

In accordance with the agreement, U.S. combat forces today left Iraqi cities and districts within preparations for withdrawal from Iraq by August 2010, to be completed by the end of 2011 commensurate with U.S. President Barack Obama’s plan.
SS (P)

4 MND Soldiers killed in Baghdad

June 30, 2009 - 10:49:24
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq:

Four Multi-National Division–Baghdad (US) soldiers died on June 29, 2009, as the result of combat related injuries, said a release issued by the Multi National Forces (MNF) in Iraq Tuesday, referring that the soldiers’ names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

“MND-B will not release any additional details prior to notification of next of kin and official release by the DoD,” said the release received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The incident is currently under investigation,” it said.

With the death of those four soldiers, the toll of U.S. army casualties in Iraq during June 2009 moves up to 15, including five servicemen who were killed for reasons said to be non-combat, while the total death toll since the beginning of operations in Iraq in March 2003 now being 4,321.
MH (P)/SR

Car bomb attack casualties in Mosul reach 10

June 29, 2009 - 07:03:20
NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq:

The death toll from the car bomb explosion in the east of Mosul rose to 10, including a child, a police source said on Monday.

“The death toll from the car bomb blast in al-Hamadaniya district in east of Mosul rose on Monday (June 29) rose to 10, including a five-year-old child and a Kurdish security element,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

A police source had said earlier that a car crammed with explosives went off inside a garage in al-Hamadaniya district, eastern Mosul, killing six, including five policemen.

“The police found the car bomb and when they approached it to defuse it, the bomb was remotely detonated,” he noted.

Mosul, the capital of Ninewa, is 405 km north of Baghdad.