Security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Iraq. — Photo by ReutersThings are not looking good in Iraq at the moment - there was a bombing attack in Basra yesterday which has been very quiet for quite some time and now this news that insurgents (more than likely al Qaeda in Iraq) conducted a twin bombing outside of a government building in Baquba and then stormed the building where they are reported to be holding government officials as hostages.
From the report at DAWN:
Gunmen on Tuesday stormed an Iraqi provincial council building in Baquba city — northeast of Baghdad — after two bombs exploded outside, killing at least eight people and wounding 27 more, police and health officials said.
The attack in Diyala province’s capital was the latest on a government building to test Iraqi forces as they prepare for the planned withdrawal of US troops at the year end.
Iraqi forces surrounded the council building where gunmen were still inside with some members of the provincial council, police and local politicians said.
Police said at least eight people were killed in the attack in which a car bomb exploded and a suicide bomber detonated his explosives before gunmen assaulted the building.
A source at Baquba hospital said they had received two bodies, but ambulances could not reach other victims because of the shooting.
If you remember from the Iraq War, Diyala province was one of the most difficult areas of the country for the U.S. and Iraqi forces to clean al Qaeda in Iraq out of and it appears that there are still elements there. I haven't seen a connection written about anywhere but it appears that Iraq is seeing an upswing in these attacks that coincide with the spring offensive of the Taliban over in Afghanistan.
Attacks like these make it more and more certain that the Iraqis are going to ask for U.S. troops to stay even longer in the country.
At least eight killed as gunmen storm Iraq council building
BAGHDAD: Gunmen on Tuesday stormed an Iraqi provincial council building in Baquba city — northeast of Baghdad — after two bombs exploded outside, killing at least eight people and wounding 27 more, police and health officials said.
The attack in Diyala province’s capital was the latest on a government building to test Iraqi forces as they prepare for the planned withdrawal of US troops at the year end.
Iraqi forces surrounded the council building where gunmen were still inside with some members of the provincial council, police and local politicians said.
Police said at least eight people were killed in the attack in which a car bomb exploded and a suicide bomber detonated his explosives before gunmen assaulted the building.
A source at Baquba hospital said they had received two bodies, but ambulances could not reach other victims because of the shooting.
Diyala, 65 miles from Baghdad, is a volatile area where al Qaeda affiliates and other militia are still active.
Violence in Iraq has eased since the peak of bloody sectarian fighting in 2006-2007, but Sunni and Shia militias still carry out daily bombings and killings.
Gunmen stormed a provincial council headquarters in Tikrit in March, taking hostages before security forces ended the siege. At least 53 people were killed in the attack.
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