Guerrillas detonated a car bomb outside an Iraqi security force base just north of Baghdad yesterday, killing nine people and wounding dozens in the latest attack on Iraqis cooperating with occupying troops.
With the formal handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi government less than four weeks away, Baghdad has seen a surge in deadly attacks in recent days.
The 15-nation UN Security Council was called into a special session yesterday amid signs that the US is close to securing agreement on a draft UN resolution on the future of Iraq after June 30.
"A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device was detonated," US Major Andreas Dekunpfy said at the scene of the blast at the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps base in Taji. US troops are also based nearby.
It was not clear whether the bombing was a suicide attack, a tactic regularly used by insurgents.
The US military said six people were killed, but hospital officials later said nine Iraqis were killed and 61 wounded.
On Saturday, two soldiers were killed and two wounded when a bomb was detonated near their convoy in the northeast of the capital. The previous day, five soldiers were killed in a guerrilla attack in the same area.
Insurgents also attacked foreigners traveling in civilian four-wheel drive vehicles on the airport road on Saturday. After the attack two vehicles were in flames and witnesses said they saw at least two bodies. The US military had no information.
South of Baghdad, gunmen burst into a police station in the town of Mussayab on Saturday and forced police into a cell before detonating explosives in the building, police said. They said at least 10 policemen and two civilians were killed.
Iraqi police and security personnel are regularly targeted by guerrillas, who have repeatedly threatened Iraqis who work with occupying troops and foreign organizations.
Also see story:
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source