Northern Iraq rocked by explosions
BAGHDAD (AP) - January 23, 2008 In a separate incident, a suicide car bomber targeted a police
convoy near the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least five
civilians and injuring 11, police said.
The cause of the apartment blast in the city of Mosul was
unknown. Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim al-Jubouri said it occurred about
4:30 p.m. after the arrival of Iraqi police forces who went to the
building after receiving a tip that weapons and explosives were
hidden inside.
The entire building, a suspected bomb-making factory, was empty.
But the blast devastated nearby houses, killing seven people and
injuring 70, al-Jubouri said.
Three days ago, a U.S. military spokesman said al-Qaida had been
chased from all major Iraqi cities except Mosul, 225 miles
northwest of Baghdad.
Attacks have persisted in recent months in northern Iraq even as
violence has declined in Baghdad and other areas.
The attacker in Kirkuk missed his apparent target - a convoy
carrying the head of the area's police academy, Col. Jawdat
Hussein, as he patrolled a market in Debis west of Kirkuk, police
spokesman Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir said.
Instead, the blast killed at least five civilians and injured
11, Qadir said.
Kirkuk is an oil-rich city 180 miles north of Baghdad.
In the capital Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on Iraqi soldiers
resting on the side of a highway in central Baghdad, killing three
and injuring at least one, according to police and the U.S.
military.
The drive-by shooting occurred as the troops were on foot patrol
about 11 a.m. in the Bab al-Mudham district on the eastern side of
the Tigris River, a police officer said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
One of the soldiers, who was wounded in his leg and stomach,
said the patrol was near the Finance Ministry when they were
attacked. He would only give his first name as Muhsin.
"The highway was almost empty when a speeding white car
approached us and the passengers showered us with bullets," he
said. "We were taken by surprise and we did not have the time to
shoot back."
The attack in the heart of Baghdad provided a deadly example of
the stark challenges facing the Iraqi forces as they work to take
over their own security so U.S.-led troops can eventually go home.
It was the latest in a series of bombings, shootings and mortar
attacks as militants seek to undermine recent security gains.
Iraqi politicians and the Shiite-led government of Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki have been criticized for failing to take
advantage of recent security gains to make progress on key
U.S.-backed reforms believed necessary to stem support for the
Sunni-led insurgency.
With the help of improving Iraqi troops and Awakening Councils -
mostly Sunni tribal groups that have turned against al-Qaida in
Iraq - the U.S. military says it has gained command of many key
areas across central Iraq.
But it is far more difficult to prevent isolated suicide strikes
against less-protected targets.
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Associated Press writer Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this
report.