An explosives-laden sewage truck blew up near a police station, a car bomb struck an Iraqi army checkpoint and a roadside bomb killed seven police officers -- attacks that bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda and showed that extremists can still hit hard despite recent gains by US-led forces.
A US military spokesman on Tuesday said the network is on the run in some areas, but it "obviously remains very lethal."
The bombings and a series of shootings on Tuesday mainly targeted Iraqi security forces and tribal leaders facing internal rivalries but bystanders were also struck as at least 25 people were killed or found dead nationwide.
PHOTO: AP
The deadliest attack occurred early yesterday when seven Iraqi police were killed in a blast near the city of Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad.
One officer was among those killed when the police vehicle was hit by the blast on the main road between Diwaniyah and the town of Afak, military officials said.
On Tuesday a parked car blew up near a gas station across the street from an Iraqi army checkpoint in Baghdad, killing six -- four civilians and two Iraqi soldiers -- and wounding 25 other people.
The bombings came despite stringent security measures as part of a US-Iraqi military operation now in its ninth month and celebrations marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber in a sewage pump truck detonated his payload as he approached a police station.
The blast collapsed most of the building, killing at least four policemen and wounding 75 people, police said.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
RSS