Up to 35 killed in Friday's Diyala bombing

BAQUBA, Iraq, May 22, 2010, (Xinhua) --

The toll from Friday's suicide minibus bomb attack in Diyala province rose to 35 killed and 69 wounded, a provincial police source said on Saturday.

"The latest reports said that 35 people were killed and 69 others injured in the suicide attack of Khalis City, some 20 km north of the provincial capital of Baquba," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attack took place in the evening when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden minibus into a crowded area near coffee shops at a commercial area in Khalis and blew it up, the source said.

"The city hospital received 35 bodies, including seven unidentified people who got their bodies torn by the massive blast, and 69 injured people, 23 of whom were in critical condition," the source said, citing medical reports.

The blast destroyed three coffee shops and 12 nearby shops, the source said, adding that 14 houses and apartments were also destroyed by the blast which left seven vehicles totally charred at the scene.

Earlier, a local police put the toll at 20 killed and some 50 wounded by the attack.

Shortly after the attack Iraqi security forces captured two men believed to be behind the massive bombing of Khalis at a checkpoint, the provincial source said.

"The two suspects have been taken into custody for interrogation," he said.

Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated U.S. and Iraqi military operations against them.

Various attacks continue all around Iraq since the March parliamentary elections. On May 10, a string of deadly attacks caused more than 100 Iraqis killed in the war-torn country.

Two US soldiers killed in Iraq

Press TV, Saturday, 22 May 2010 14:10:51 GMT

So far the United States has lost 4,399 soldiers in the Iraq war.

The US military has announced that two of its combat troops have been killed in separate incidents in the restive regions of northern Iraq.

The army said in a statement that one of the soldiers was killed near Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Friday. The military statement gave no details on the circumstances leading to his death.

A second statement said that a US soldier died on Thursday of injuries sustained in the same region.

The combat operations violate an earlier deal signed between Washington and Baghdad.

Under the deal, signed in late 2008, the movement of US troops is limited to their bases and all unilateral operations should have technically ceased in 2009.

The latest death brings the number of US fatalities in Iraq to 4,399 since the US-led invasion in 2003.

The figures are based on the independent icasualties website that tracks US and NATO military deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq.

JR/MMN

5 policemen, servicemen injured in Blast in Diala

May 22, 2010 - 09:29:29

DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq:

Three Iraqi army soldiers and two policemen were wounded on Saturday,  when a roadside bomb went off while they were attempting to defuse it, northeast of Baaquba city.

“The incident occurred today in a village around 180 km northeast of Baaquba,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

He noted that all injuries were admitted to hospital, and that one of them is serious.

Baaquba, the capital city of Diala province, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

MH (P)/SR

4 family members killed, injured in Diala

May 21, 2010 - 11:46:19

DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq:

Three family members were killed and a fourth one was injured by gunmen in east of Baaquba, a security source said on Friday.

“Unknown armed group, wearing a military uniform, stormed a family’s house in al-Shakha district in al-Muqdadiya, east of Baaquba, killing three and injuring the a fourth person,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

He did not give more details.

Baaquba, the capital of Diala, is 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

SH (P)

Military intelligence officer’s brother killed in Diwaniya

May 21, 2010 - 07:57:20

DIWANIYA / Aswat al-Iraq:

A military intelligence officer’s brother was killed in east of Diwaniya city, a police source said on Friday.

“Three gunmen killed a military intelligence officer’s brother in front of his house late Thursday (May 20) in al-Joumhoury neighborhood in east of Diwaniya,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“Policemen arrested a man suspected of being involved in the incident,” he added.

Diwaniya is 180 km south of Baghdad.

SH (P)