IRAQ: Five mortars kill at least 4 in northern Baghdad as gunmen attack police checkpoint south of capital

Record ID: 353524

  • Title: IRAQ: Five mortars kill at least 4 in northern Baghdad as gunmen attack police checkpoint south of capital
  • Date: 20th January 2007
  • Summary: CLOSE UP OF SIGN "AL-MUSSAYAB GENERAL HOSPITAL"
  • Embargoed: 4th February 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1PZ5SQ855XD1GKEAM0O2SGU8K
  • Story Text: There were conflicting reports, as is common in Iraq, on the number of casualties from four mortar explosions in a Baghdad dustrict of Suleigh, a mixed area where both Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs live. The fifth mortar attack in the north of the city killed at least 4.
    Five mortars hit a residential area in northern Baghdad on Saturday (January 20), killing four people and wounding six more, a police source said.
    Four mortar explosions were reported in Suleikh, a mixed area of Baghdad where both Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs live. The reports on casualties were conflicting.
    "Three mortar rounds landed here, one of them fell here, the second slammed on this house (points) and the third one landed on the central reservation of the road. A fourth one landed near the market," said a resident of the district.
    One source at the nearby Nuaaman hospital said 17 bodies had been brought to the hospital and 49 wounded, but there was no confirmation of that or whether all the casualties were from the mortar attacks.
    A police source put the death toll at four with six wounded.
    The source said another mortar attack in the neighbouring district of Raghiba Khatoun had killed one person and wounded nine.
    Mortar attacks rarely kill a large number of people unless they hit a crowded areas such as a restaurant or market.
    Meanwhile, gunmen assaulted a police checkpoint south of Baghdad at dawn Saturday (January 20), killing three policemen and wounding two others, police and hospital sources said.
    The attack took place at 0530 a.m. (0230 GMT) in Jurf al-Sakhar district, a dangerous area about 85 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad,
    Iraqi security forces are frequently targeted by bombers and gunmen seeking to undermine the Iraqi government. Police in many areas are also infiltrated by militias, making them a target for rival armed groups.
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