Fuel tanker bomb kills 37 in Iraq

Published February 25, 2007

BAGHDAD, Feb 24: A fuel tanker rigged with explosives killed 37 people when it blew up near a mosque in western Iraq on Saturday, a day after the mosque's Sunni imam had criticised Al Qaeda militants, police and residents said.

The bomb exploded in a market in the town of Habaniya in the restive province of Anbar, where US forces are battling insurgent groups, including Al Qaeda.

Police said 64 people were wounded. An Interior Ministry source put the death toll at 31, with 67 wounded.

Local residents said the imam of the mosque had criticised Al Qaeda leadership during Friday prayers. Some Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar are leading a campaign to fight Al Qaeda. Habaniya lies 85 km west of the Baghdad.

On Monday, two suicide bombers in nearby Ramadi killed 11 people when they targeted the house of Sattar al-Buzayi, who has led a drive against Al Qaeda in the area.

Insurgents earlier stormed an Iraqi police checkpoint near Baghdad airport, killing eight policemen in a bold challenge to a US-backed security crackdown in the capital aimed at halting sectarian violence.

US President George W. Bush is sending 21,500 extra troops to Iraq to help with the Baghdad crackdown. Most are heading for the capital, but 4,000 will also be sent to Anbar to try to quell the insurgency raging there.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki expressed optimism about the 10-day-old security plan, saying US and Iraqi forces had killed around 400 suspected militants since it started.

But the attack on the police checkpoint in an area not far from the main US military headquarters in Baghdad underlined the hurdles faced by Iraqi security forces who are often out-gunned by increasingly sophisticated insurgents.

“It was a brazen attack,” said Captain Curtis Kellogg, a US military spokesman. “It was definitely coordinated. We expect this type of thing to continue. They will try to test the Iraqi and US security forces.”

A statement from the US military said eight to 10 gunmen attacked the checkpoint in two vehicles. Militants in the first one got out firing assault rifles and throwing hand grenades at the policemen.

The second vehicle was forced into a ditch where it was cordoned off on suspicion it could be a suicide car bomb.

Two militants were killed in the firefight. One was wearing a suicide vest, Kellogg said.

Maliki paid a visit on Saturday to the command centre for the Baghdad operation and urged security forces not to be swayed by sectarian loyalties.

He told reporters 426 suspected militants had been detained in the crackdown “and around that number have been killed” since it was launched in mid-February. The campaign is regarded as the last chance to prevent all-out civil war.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...