Dozens of suspected al-Qaeda militants showered a Shiite village with mortar rounds early on Saturday, then stormed the streets, killing at least 13 Iraqis, torching homes and forcing hundreds of families to flee, police said. Some villagers fought back, leaving three gunmen dead in the heart of one of Iraq's most violent regions.
Even with nationwide violence ebbing to the lowest levels since January last year, US commanders have warned that security is precarious in northern Iraqi regions such as Diyala -- where Saturday's attack took place -- as al-Qaeda and other militants have moved there to avoid coalition operations.
The militant attack on Dwelah, about 75km north of Baghdad in Diyala, began about 6:30am with the mortar rounds, then 50 to 60 suspected al-Qaeda fighters streamed in and opened fire, a police officer said.
Among the 13 dead were three children and two women, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information about the raid. Villagers trying to fight back killed three gunmen, but the militants torched more than two dozen homes and around 500 families took shelter in neighboring towns, police said.
Elsewhere in Diyala, Iraqi officials said US and Iraqi troops, police and members of a local tribe freed four villages from al-Qaeda control, killing 10 militants and arresting 15 in a two-day operation that ended on Saturday. Among the weapons and ammunition seized were 100 barrels of TNT, according the provincial army and police headquarters. The US military said it could not immediately confirm the report.
The number of attacks nationwide has declined overall -- 718 Iraqi civilians were killed last month, according to an Associated Press tally, the lowest monthly civilian death toll since just before last year's bombing of a Shiite shrine that spawned vicious sectarian bloodshed.
As the influx of US troops gained momentum earlier this year, US officials have courted both Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders in Diyala and elsewhere, hoping they will help lead local drives against al-Qaeda. A similar effort saw some success in Iraq's westernmost province, Anbar, where Sunni tribes rose against the organization's brutality and austere version of Islam.
At least 35 Iraqis were killed or found dead across the country, including according to an Associated Press count on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, a roadside bomb struck a US combat patrol in Baghdad, killing one US soldier and wounding three, the military said in a statement.
US commanders have welcomed the relative lull in violence, but warn that Sunni and Shiite extremists still pose a serious threat. The US administration has pushed the Shiite-led government to capitalize on the security gains and make tangible progress toward national reconciliation.
That effort has foundered, and on Saturday lawmakers from parliament's largest Sunni Arab bloc walked out of a session to protest what they called the house arrest of their leader, Adnan al-Dulaimi, following the discovery of a car bomb near his compound.
US and Iraqi officials said the keys to the explosives-laden vehicle were found on one of his bodyguards. Al-Dulaimi's son and about 30 other people also were arrested on Friday.
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