A female suicide bomber blew herself up as she approached US-allied Sunni fighters walking in a crowded area north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least eight members of the group and wounding 24 other people, police said.
The attack in Baqubah came as the US-backed Iraqi military prepared to expand operations in Diyala Province, of which Baqubah is the capital — the latest bid to tame the last major insurgent belt north of Baghdad.
The woman, who was shrouded in a traditional black Islamic robe, detonated her explosives belt at about 8:30pm as she approached the group of awakening council guards in the central New Baqubah area, a police officer said.
The officer, who read the police bombing report but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information, and witnesses said the local awakening council chief Naaim al-Duliami was killed along with seven of his bodyguards.
The US military in northern Iraq said troops were investigating the bombing and it could not immediately confirm the attacker was a woman.
The US military has credited the Sunni turn against al-Qaeda as a key factor in driving down violence to its lowest point in more than four years — along with a US troop buildup and a ceasefire declared by anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for his Shiite militia.
Members of the groups have frequently been targeted by al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents seeking to derail the security gains.
Earlier on Thursday, gunmen also killed three awakening council members in multiple drive-by shootings against military and police checkpoints in the Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah in northern Baghdad, a leading member of the group who also declined to be identified because of security concerns said.
Baqubah and other areas in Diyala have been hit by several high-profile bombings in recent months as Sunni Arab insurgents show they retain the ability to cause mass casualties.
Two suicide bombers struck army recruits at a military camp in the city a week ago on Tuesday, killing at least 28 people and wounding 57.
Insurgents also have increasingly been using women to stage suicide bombings in the area in a bid to avoid stepped up security measures. Women are more easily able to hide the explosives under their all-encompassing cloaks and they are often not searched at checkpoints.
Laying the groundwork for the expected new Diyala offensive, US soldiers of the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment searched caves and blew up suspected hideouts believed used by al-Qaeda in Iraq this week near the mountain town of Qara Tappah, about 80km northeast of Baqubah.
They also checked IDs of adult males in each house and detained some on suspicion of being al-Qaeda operatives as part of the sweep dubbed “Operation Cat’s Eye.”
US commanders have said they would assist Iraq’s government in pursuing the offensive against militants who are trying to regroup in the area.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese