IRAQ: Violence in Iraq continues as a suicide bomber kills 13 elite Iraqi commandos and gunmen rob a ministry convoy, killing two

Record ID: 355844

  • Title: IRAQ: Violence in Iraq continues as a suicide bomber kills 13 elite Iraqi commandos and gunmen rob a ministry convoy, killing two
  • Date: 25th September 2005
  • Summary: (BN08) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 25, 2005) (REUTERS) FIREMEN NEAR CHARRED WRECKAGE OF BURNT OUT CAR WHERE A SUICIDE CAR BOMB KILLED 13 ELITE IRAQI COMMANDOS WRECKAGE OF BURNT OUT CAR FIREMAN FOLDING HOSE POLICE COMMANDOS ON STREET (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 10th October 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: War / Fighting,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5H7YNJU54LXB6SV14D0XPBIZV
  • Story Text: A suicide car bomber attacked an elite Iraqi police unit in Baghdad on Sunday (September 25) and killed 13 people in the worst of several outbursts of violence to hit the country.
    Iraqi police said the car bomber targeted a patrol of specialist police commandos as they were travelling on a highway in the east of the capital. All those killed were from the commando unit and 10 others were wounded, police said.
    The bomb followed clashes overnight between U.S. troops and Shi'ite militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City. Police said eight militia fighters were killed and five wounded in the fighting.
    South of the capital, in the city of Hilla, a bomber on a bicycle rode into a crowded fruit and vegetable market and blew himself up, killing four, including a woman and child, and wounding 48, police said.
    Meanwhile, unknown gunmen held up a convoy of armoured vehicles from the Iraqi Ministry of Finance in Baghdad on Sunday (September 25) and killed two people before making off with 850,000 U.S. dollars in cash, police said.
    The gunmen forced the vehicles to a halt as they travelled through Mansour, an upmarket district in the west of the capital. It was not clear where the vehicles were headed.
    A shootout ensued, in which the gunmen killed two guards and wounded nine before escaping with the money, police said.
    The string of attacks comes three weeks before Iraq holds a referendum on a new draft constitution and amid a general increase in unrest both in central areas and in the southern city of Basra, where Shi'ite militia have fought British troops.
    The U.S. military has said it expects a surge in violence in the run-up to the referendum, set for Oct. 15, with Iraqis strongly divided over a document that was supposed to unite them and lay the foundations for a more stable future.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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